Print

Perez Meets Legislative Leaders

By Jeffrey B. Cohen

March 24, 2009

Money, please. And some consideration.

That seems to be what Mayor Eddie A. Perez asked for Monday when he met at the capitol with state legislative leaders.

Perez, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, and Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch met with leaders of the state's general assembly to discuss the "unique challenges" the cities face, Perez's spokeswoman Sarah Barr said.

"Ongoing dialogue will continue as budget process continues," Barr said in an e-mail. (Getty Images)

It was scheduled to be an hour-long afternoon session with state Senate President Pro Tempore Donald Williams, Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, House Speaker Christopher Donovan, and House Majority Leader Denise Merrill.

In an interview today, Williams said that the mayors all spoke about the "plight" of the major cities and "what they're facing in terms of cuts and layoffs." Williams specifically noted the challenges posed to cities like Hartford by non-taxable property and the cost of crime and recidivism.

"The overall message was, in these tough times, please consider how tough things are already for our major cities as you're looking at expenditures for municipal aid," Williams said. "Please don't take steps that would make the tough challenges that we have even more challenging and would make things even worse."

Hartford is facing an estimated $8 million deficit this year and an estimated $40 million deficit next year.

Williams said he heard the message and that he will keep it in mind as the budget progresses.