CTNJ/Opinion: In tough times local leaders unite & lead

Joe DeLong is the Executive Director of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM,) which represents 158 member municipalities, including Norwalk.

On Jan. 25, during a press conference CCM commissioned to release its report, “This Is Different – Securing the Future Service Sharing and Revenue Diversification for Connecticut Municipalities,” a reporter asked Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin if the General Assembly adopted the recommendations in the report in their entirety, would the city of Hartford be solvent? The Mayor’s answer: “This would put our city in a position to be stable and I think to become vibrant.”

Click here for CCM’s “This Is Different” Report and here to view Mayor Bronin’s comments at the Jan. 25 news conference.

Now on the surface there is nothing remarkable about that statement. After all we have seen other proposals that help out the city of Hartford as well as other struggling urban centers across Connecticut. But there is a reason why this Report is Different. There is a reason why the Mayor’s response to the question is remarkable. The recommendations in the report that the Mayor and others were referencing were developed by a panel dominated by members from small rural as well as suburban communities.

Read the full story on CT News Junkie.