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03/03/2020 03:10 PMState Representative Devin Carney (R-23)—whose district encompasses Lyme, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, and part of Westbrook—and fellow Republican Old Saybrook First Selectman Carl P. Fortuna, Jr. drew around 20 residents to the Parthenon Diner on a February morning for a legislative update. The 2020 legislative session began Feb. 5 and adjourns May 6.
The roughly one-hour discussion, which was partly driven by constituents’ questions and comments, touched on topics from transportation and tolls to trash, recycling, and septic systems.
A Bridgeport Casino?
The question of a new casino in Bridgeport is still unresolved, with competing bills proposing different deals. The state’s tribal casinos, Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, want not only to build a casino there but want exclusive rights to run sports betting, whereas other entities, such as Sportech, an off-track betting operator, has warned that such an arrangement could lead to lawsuits.
MGM, which operates casinos in Springfield, Massachusetts and Yonkers, New York, has also considered opening a casino in Bridgeport. Governor Ned Lamont (D) has stated that any casino deal has to involve the tribes and Carney said that “MGM’s out of the picture now.”
Both Carney and Fortuna expressed skepticism about the success of a new Bridgeport casino.
“I think it will drive tribal revenues significantly down,” Fortuna said. “And they’re already down.
“The state is saying to the town, ‘We’ll give you some of that revenue, so you should support it,’” he said. “It just doesn’t seem like a very stable source of revenue.”
“If you put [a casino] in Bridgeport, you’re going to prevent people from coming to the two here,” Carney said, “so it’s actually going to be bad for eastern Connecticut.
“It may be good for the tribes, because they’re trying to protect their revenue,” he continued. But while jobs would be created, “Those are not the jobs that are going to move Connecticut forward.”
New London Pier
A unanimous vote of the Connecticut Port Authority in February ensured that New London’s 100-year-old state pier will be renovated to allow heavy equipment to build off-shore wind turbines.
Once estimated at $93 million, the cost of the pier renovation is now $157 million, according to Carney.
“There is an opportunity for other shipping to be used there as well and the Cross Sound ferry,” he said.
The funding is coming from state bonding as well as investments from Eversource and Orsted, a Danish off-shore wind development company.
Toll Controversy
A resident said he views out-of state traffic on I-95 as a revenue source that is not being tapped by the state and suggested revenue could be used to compensate Connecticut commuters for travel costs.
Lamont has suggested something similar, Fortuna said, but tolls are opposed by many people because Connecticut has “one of the highest gas taxes in the country.”
“I think some would argue [that revenue from gas taxes] has been squandered to the general fund,” he said. “Tolling is a user fee. I’m not dead set against it...It is a revenue source. But we pay such high taxes towards transportation already.”
Massachusetts, which has tolls mostly on the Massachusetts Turnpike, does not charge a gross receipts tax on gas, as does Connecticut, said Carney. The gross-receipts tax is “that 8.81 percent we pay at the pump above what we pay as straight-up gas tax, which is 25 cents per gallon of gas or fraction thereof.”
The gross-receipts tax brings in around $250 million, whereas Massachusetts nets roughly $400 million from tolls, Carney said. Thus, Connecticut residents would view tolls more favorably if the gross receipts tax were eliminated—but Carney implied that eliminating the gas tax would have to happen first.
As for trucks-only tolls, Carney referenced the trucking industry’s lawsuit against Rhode Island, which he believes would be duplicated here should such a toll pass.
“[T]he truckers are...saying that they’re being discriminated against under the commerce law because it’s only affecting one type of vehicle,” Carney said.
“[T]hey already pay into two interstate funds that are a user fee for the trucks to pay into the transportation system,” he continued. “So Connecticut, for example, gets $40 million from these two funds...paid for by the trucking industry.”
The Rhode Island case hinges on whether the tolls are user fees (as the trucking industry claims) or taxes (as the state maintains).
Carney believes many of his constituents also wonder how toll revenues would be spent and would prefer for it to fund roads and infrastructure rather than transportation.
“Regardless of how you pay for it I think...most people in Hartford agree that we need to be funding our roads and they require a strong investment from the state,” Carney said.
Transportation
“Give the governor credit,” Fortuna said. “I think he’s done a good job of prioritizing transportation.”
Carney said investments in rail and buses are important, but “a lot of people down here are never going to use some of these systems that they’re talking about investing in.” He also explained that while bus systems can’t be expected to bring in revenue, frequency of routes should be examined to ensure there’s demand.
The 9 Town Transit pilot on-demand bus program is a good idea that “is pretty innovative and actually speaks to...21st-century work schedules,” Carney said.
The program provides a first mile/last mile service to or from the train station, dropping passengers off at their destination as long as it falls within the service boundaries.
Trash & Recycling
“There is a serious issue that’s sort of under the radar regarding garbage,” Carney said. “Right now we send all of our garbage to the MIRA [Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority] plant up in Hartford.”
“Municipal solid waste,” Fortuna said. “In other words, not your bulky waste—not your asphalt shingles or your couch, old couches, but your trash and recycling.”
MIRA, Carney explained, is a “trash-to-energy plant, so it creates energy from our garbage. The problem is that plant has serious problems and is in need of renovation” to the tune of $330 million.
“The mayor of Hartford doesn’t want the plant there anymore,” he continued.
Towns that send trash to MIRA are being asked to make a 30-year commitment to the plant, a scenario Fortuna believes is unrealistic.
Alternatives include building a plant elsewhere; shipping trash out of state, where it would be buried; or a pay-as-you-throw program, similar to the SMART program instituted in Stonington that requires residents to pay for garbage bags according to their size.
While there is currently no charge to towns for disposal of recyclables, fees are expected to be instituted and to rise.
“Some of the ideas up in Hartford are to increase the deposit fees on existing recyclable goods like plastic bottles and glass bottles to 10 cents, adding on things that currently you don’t pay the deposit on, like tea, Gatorade sports drinks, wine bottles, liquor bottles...to 10 cents or possibly more,” said Carney.
There is one anaerobic digestion facility in the state, Carney said, and adding more would help reduce the amount of solid municipal waste in the state.
“If there were more anaerobic digesters, if the state would invest in these...then maybe we ...would get rid of 25 percent of our tonnage, which would be huge,” said Fortuna.
“You’re going to be hearing a lot more about” trash and recycling, he said. “This is a time for leadership by DEEP and Gov. Ned Lamont on this issue. They’re getting the message, but I would encourage everybody here to do what you can to reduce the amount of garbage you produce.”