Largest cities get biggest share of $270M state aid package

CT Examiner – Tuesday, May 5, 2026
By Nick Sambides Jr.

The state’s largest cities stand to receive the biggest share of an extra $270 million in aid, part of a broader effort to offset rising school costs and property taxes.

The plan, proposed by Gov. Ned Lamont, passed the House 127-21 and the Senate 30-6 last week.

“By closing funding gaps for our schools and municipalities, we can help communities avoid raising property taxes while keeping classrooms running and local services strong,” Lamont said in a statement this week. “Affordability is a top priority for this administration, and this investment delivers real relief where people feel it most.”

Critics of the plan, however, said it missed the mark. As a one-shot deal, it won’t redress growing residential property taxes brought on by a recent revaluation. Nor does the legislation guarantee that local officials will devote their portions entirely to tax relief.

Even supporters, while grateful for the aid, said it was a stopgap against problems — rising fuel, the federal deficit and U.S. foreign war costs — far beyond local control. But some praised it as a sign of the state’s strong fiscal management, noting it reflects a rainy-day allocation made possible by robust reserves.

Meriden is among the cities that will most benefit from the additional funds. The city received about $7.7 million in education aid and $1.5 million in local government aid for fiscal year 2026-27.

“We had started with an $8.1 million hole in our Board of Education budget and the money that we are receiving, the dedicated education money, will plug most of that hole and the city will be able to contribute less than they thought they were going to need to fill the rest of it. So, we’re very pleased with that,” said State Rep. Michael Quinn, who represents the Silver City.

Quinn said Meriden residents won’t feel much, if any, of the rising school costs and national inflation this year.

Meriden’s share of the money placed it sixth on the list of towns to receive aid. Hartford was first with $33.6 million, or $20.5 million in school and $13.1 million in government aid. Bridgeport ($25.4 million), New Haven ($20 million), Waterbury ($19.9 million), and New Britain ($18 million) topped the list.

Roxbury, with $11,929 in total aid, plus Bridgewater ($10,661), Cornwall ($9,276), Warren ($8,682) and Salisbury ($8,493) were at the bottom of the list. All 169 towns received some funding.

Republican State Rep. Craig Fishbein, who represents Wallingford and Middlefield, voted against the allocation, saying he couldn’t support it when Middlefield needed funding for other projects like a new firehouse.

Wallingford got about $400,000 less than expected in education aid, he said, while Connecticut fails to fund all its public-school systems to the full extent required by its Education Cost Sharing formula annually.

“I’ve got to try and protect my district,” Fishbein said. “We’re looking at priorities and when the fire department can’t even for the most part get their vehicles into the firehouse and we’re giving money to people that are there illegally. I just can’t support that.”

Hamden Democratic Legislative Council President Katie Kiely said she wished her town would have received more aid. Mayor Adam Sendroff and the council are working with state legislators for a more permanent solution to their financial problems.

Kiely said the state’s financial funding formulas should be adjusted to give Hamden more money for several reasons, including its long and faithful efforts to fund its pensions of town workers.

“It’s antiquated to just look at the median income of a town to decide what its need is.

You also have to look at how they’ve exhausted their structures,” Kiely said. “In Hamden’s case, Hamden decided to be responsible and take care of their employees [with pensions] and the people in the town [with affordable housing] from the very beginning.”

For State Rep. Joe Gresko, D-Stratford, the additional funding “is hopefully a sign that the fiscal guardrails that we installed eight years ago at the state level, with state government, are working.”

“We’re having this additional funding that we can funnel back to our municipalities to try to alleviate some of the property tax burden and also, we’re struggling with affordability, all the while the state continues to right its ship fiscally,” he added.

Unlike eight years ago, when the state budget ran regularly in the red, legislators now allocate about 18% of the state’s annual operating budget into its Affordability Fund. Any unallocated revenue beyond that pays down unfunded pension obligations for state workers and state teachers. When the effort began, the pensions were about 35% funded.

The state now has a little more than 60% of that debt paid, Gresko said.

Quinn said he was concerned that the impacts of inflation, the Iran war and fuel costs driven higher by the breakdown of traffic flow through the Strait of Hormuz will leave taxpayers facing continued financial struggles.

He doubted there would be much more the state Legislature could do next year if the economy doesn’t improve.

“Our hands are tied,” Quinn said, “to the point of being amputated.”

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