A statewide citizens' panel wants Connecticut to impose highway tolls, tax millionaires and push school districts to regionalize.

The proposals, released Oct. 26 by the Connecticut Citizens' Assembly on Property Taxes, carry particular weight in Greenwich, where high property values, high-income residents and a locally controlled school district could all be affected. The panel of roughly 100 randomly selected residents was organized by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) in collaboration with Yale University, the University of Connecticut and the state comptroller's office, the Greenwich Sentinel reported.

The report contains 10 recommendations. They are not legislation, but State Comptroller Sean Scanlon plans to convene assembly participants into a working group to advocate through at least the end of the 2027 legislative session, according to the Sentinel. Legislative leaders from both major caucuses have committed to meeting with the group, the report states.

Tolls and the car-tax swap

The assembly cited a 2023 state analysis estimating that interstate tolls could generate roughly $950 million per year, with about 40% coming from out-of-state drivers, according to the Sentinel. The idea: use that revenue to eliminate municipal motor vehicle taxes, which generate a similar amount statewide.

The report acknowledged a tradeoff. Residents who drive frequently on interstate highways could see higher transportation costs even as their car-tax bills disappear.

The proposal faces steep political and legal barriers. Gov. Ned Lamont tried and failed to pass a tolling plan in 2019, CT Mirror reported. Connecticut voters ratified a constitutional "lock box" amendment in 2018 that restricts how transportation fund dollars can be spent. Changing that could require a new amendment, which would not go before voters until 2028, according to CT Mirror.

Millionaires' tax

The panel recommended adding at least one percentage point to the state income-tax rate on taxable income above $1 million. Revenue would go toward education, childcare and health care, with the goal of easing local property-tax burdens, the Sentinel reported.

Both Lamont, a Democrat, and Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Fazio oppose raising income taxes on high earners, arguing it could push wealthy residents out of Connecticut, according to CT Mirror. The Republican minority in the General Assembly and many moderate Democratic lawmakers also oppose such a tax.

A poll commissioned by The Connecticut Project found 76% support for "increasing taxes on millionaires and billionaires," CT Mirror reported.

School regionalization

The report does not call for immediate forced mergers. It proposes that by 2028, a state commission should be established with authority to enact school district regionalization policies and adopt a comprehensive implementation plan for the upcoming legislative session, according to the Sentinel. The report acknowledges possible losses of local control over elected boards, hiring and neighborhood schools.

The subject is familiar. In 2019, a proposal from Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney would have required many towns to join regional school districts. It drew substantial opposition.

Cool reception at the debate

By Oct. 27, the report was shaping questions at the final gubernatorial debate at Mohegan Sun. CCM chief executive Joe DeLong and two assembly participants questioned Lamont and Fazio before a statewide television audience.

Asked about tolls, Fazio said, "I do not support new taxes on Connecticut residents," according to the Sentinel. He praised the assembly's attention to property taxes but said he would focus on reducing unfunded state mandates.

Lamont pointed to his own failed effort. "Nobody wanted to do that," he said, according to CT News Junkie.

On regionalization, Fazio said, "I do not believe in forced regionalization," the Sentinel reported. Lamont described efforts to share municipal expertise through regional councils of governments, according to the Sentinel.

DeLong was blunt about the political response. "Status quo wins," he told CT News Junkie.

Each of the report's 10 recommendations required at least two-thirds support from assembly members to make the final list.