THE ACTUAL BUDGET NUMBERS

Last week I had posted that the Hartford City Budget had increased almost $150 million dollars since the day Eddie Perez took office in 2001. I also said the mill rate had almost doubled from the low 40's in 2001 to about 75 mills now.

Someone had posted that those numbers were false. Well, here are the actual numbers year by year.

Keep in mind that no Mayor can single handedly increase the budget or the mill rate without the express approval of the City Council. The Hartford City Council needs to share the blame for this just as much as the "strong" Mayor.

Here are the real numbers, is it any wonder why we can't attract new business or spur economic development with tax rates like this? Just to give you some perspective, the next highest mill rate in the State of Connecticut is New Haven at 45.86, much lower than Hartford's. Just for a sampling here are a few others; East Hartford-33.82, Meriden-29.53, Bridgeport-39.64, Waterbury-41.81, West Hartford-38.38, Windsor-28.38. And if you wonder why Stamford is able to attract new business over Hartford, the answer is simple one, Stamford's mill rate is 17.17.For all of the Connecticut municipalities mill rates, click here to go to Connecticut's Office of Policy and Management website

Hartford Budget and Mill Rate Since 2001