New Haven – Mayor Toni N. Harp and Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim Friday released the following joint statement in response to the state’s agreement to pay off some $550 million of Hartford’s accumulated debt:

“While we evaluate the state’s new, half-billion-dollar bailout of Hartford, and recognize it as an acknowledgment of the responsibility the state has to assist it’s structurally, and perpetually distressed cities, we question whether it represents an equitable practice.

Connecticut absolutely must have a consistent, comprehensive urban policy to lift all cities constrained by current tax laws, now compounded by tens of millions of dollars in state budget cuts.

It seems the state continues to shortchange New Haven and Bridgeport – its two largest cities, with comparatively stable finances while rewarding the past practices of other cities that put them on the edge of financial collapse.

Connecticut requires comparable support for its two most populous urban centers and an economic development strategy for the Bridgeport/New Haven region. We’ll meet next week and present a consistent municipal aid program for all cities in the state.”

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