Lawmakers Defend Hartford Debt Service Payments

HARTFORD, CT — Following criticism from local elected officials, legislative leaders tried to explain the state’s financial commitment to Hartford to help the city avoid bankruptcy.

House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said he wanted to clarify the help that Hartford is receiving because some lawmakers have gotten the impression that it’s a 20-year guarantee of basically the same amount of state aid they receive now.

He said that’s not what lawmakers approved when they passed a budget in October that gave tens of millions of dollars in additional aid to the city to help it avoid filing for bankruptcy.

Hartford was placed under state oversight in January. That oversight entity — the Municipal Accountability Review Board — controls $48 million a year to assist financially distressed municipalities with their existing debt service. The city of West Haven is currently under the board’s oversight as well.

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