SC Connecticut News

Stamford, Conn. – Following the conclusion of the Connecticut General Assembly’s legislative session, Mayor Caroline Simmons thanked legislators and Gov. Ned Lamont for their work crafting a new biennial budget for Fiscal Years 2024-2025, and highlighted key areas of the budget that impact and support the City of Stamford and its residents. Throughout the legislative session, the Mayor and city leadership worked with Stamford’s legislative delegation and legislative leadership to ensure the perspective of city residents was represented at the state capitol and to advocate for funding and policy changes to benefit Stamford through the betterment of its schools, improvements to pedestrian safety, changes to tax policy, and more.

Highlights from the biennial state budget that will benefit the City of Stamford include:

• Historic Tax Cuts for Middle Class. The budget includes some of the largest cuts to the state’s income tax rates in Connecticut’s history, as well as increases to the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income working individuals and families.
• School Construction Funding for Roxbury Elementary School and Westhill School. The budget includes a $51.6 million grant for Roxbury Elementary School and a $241 million grant for Westhill School for school construction projects. The Westhill project will include a new school on the 32-acre site; the existing school will remain in operation during the construction of the new building. The Roxbury construction will transform the current K-5 school into a K-8 program.
• Education Cost Sharing (ECS). The budget includes more than $17 million in ECS funding for Stamford and its schools. As the second largest city in Connecticut, Stamford has experienced incredible growth across all sectors, including its school population. This increase will help ensure students have access to the teachers, tutors, programming, mental health support, and additional resources they need to be successful in and out of the classroom.
• Passage of Vision Zero. The Vision Zero legislation will work towards combatting pedestrian and driver deaths on Connecticut road by requiring the installation of automated speed, red light cameras, a public awareness campaign on drugged driving, and an educational component which would require the Department of Transportation to award schools that teach students grades 6-12 about safe driving habits.
• HVAC and Outdoor Athletic Facility Minimum Reimbursement Rates. The budget includes that communities across the state like Stamford receive minimum reimbursement rates for HVAC and outdoor athletic facility school construction projects.

“I have been proud to be an active voice for Stamford at the State Capitol since the legislature first went into session earlier this year, and it is great to see that work come to fruition for Stamford residents in the new state budget,” said Mayor Caroline Simmons. “There are clear benefits for Stamford residents in this new budget, whether it is local infrastructure and sidewalk safety, new investments in our schools and students, or tax cuts for working families. As a former State Representative, I understand and appreciate the hard work that goes into this process, and I want to commend and thank Stamford's entire legislative delegation for their work delivering for our City and its residents. I look forward to working in partnership with them to implement these changes.”

Original source can be found here.