News
State Legislators Secure $10 Million More in Aid For New Britain; $4 for More Aid for City Budget
New Britain’s state legislators have announced they have secured $4 million for the city budget in a one-time allocation of federal ARPA funds, as a part of a $10.1 million overall increase in aid to the city. State Senator Rick Lopes (D-6), Rep. Peter Tercyak (D-26), Rep. Manny Sanchez (D-24), Rep. Gary Turco (D-27) and […]
City Council Meetings Called to Approve Budget
Two meetings of the New Britain City Council have been called for the Council to consider approving a city budget for upcoming budget year. Council President Pro-Tempore, Ald. Francisco Santiago (D-5) and Mayor Erin Stewart (R) have each issued a “warrant” calling special meetings of the Council. The one called by Ald. Santiago is to […]
Council Gets Public Report on Developer Tax Breaks Despite Mayor’s Veto – Republicans Vote Down Further Review
Despite a veto by New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart (R) of local legislation to require public reporting of tax breaks for developers, City Council members devised a way to get them reported, anyway. But in a tie 7 to 7 vote, Council Republicans voted down an attempt by Council Democrats to refer the report to […]
Ayalon Proposes Property Tax and Rent Caps
Former New Britain City Council member Aram Ayalon (D-3), as part of his campaign for state representative, announced two proposals as a, “policy platform for affordable housing,” one on property taxes and the other on rents. “Far too many of our neighbors,” Ayalon said, “especially those on lower or fixed incomes are struggling to keep […]
Stewart Vetoes Transparency Ordinances For Developer Tax Breaks And City Purchasing
New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart (R) has vetoed two new ordinance proposals approved by the City Council that would have provided that final versions of deals for tax breaks for developers and city contracts appear on the publicly-available Council agenda. One proposed ordinance approved by the Council and vetoed by Stewart would have required that […]
Biden Delegates Chosen Include New Britain Council Leader
Delegates to represent Connecticut at this summer’s Democratic National Convention were chosen on Wednesday, including a New Britain City Council member. Council Majority Leader, Ald. John McNamara (D-4) was elected as one of the eight delegates representing the 5th Congressional District at the Democratic National Convention. All of the delegates are pledged to President Joe […]
Council Approves Transparency Ordinances for Developer Tax Breaks and City Purchasing
The City Council has approved two new ordinances providing that final versions of deals for tax breaks for developers and city contracts appear on the publicly-available Council agenda. Both new transparency ordinances are similar to an ordinance that was vetoed by Mayor Erin Stewart (R) earlier this month. Council Democrats strongly criticized the veto of […]
Council Refers Report on Unimplemented $4 Million For Flood Control to Committee for Review
The City Council has voted to examine in committee a report from New Britain city Finance Director Jonathan Perugini that appeared to imply that he did not implement a $4 million budget transfer approved by the City Council for Allen Street flood control project, saying that the resolution to approve it had, “deficiencies.” Council Majority […]
Dave DeFronzo Announces Qualifying for Citizen Election Program
Former City Council member Dave DeFronzo (D-AL) has announced that he has enough qualifying contributions to participate in the state’s Citizen Election Program, sometimes called the “clean election program,” in his run for the 26th District State Representative seat. “This program epitomizes a clean election process,” DeFronzo explained. “It bans dark money and emphasizes grassroots […]
New Britain Council Democrats Criticize Stewart Veto of Public Reports on Land Deals
Mayor Stewart, in Veto Message, Calls Use of Word “Transparency” Political, While Belittling Council Democrats Council Democrats are strongly criticizing the veto by New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart (R) of city legislation to provide for public reports to the City Council on final land deals, calling the mayor’s act, “a striking blow against the principles […]