Giant Step Forward
By Editor at January 23, 2024 | 8:15 am | Print
We took another step towards putting the City back on track this week by increasing our bond rating with Standard & Poor’s.
This time last year we were looking at the City possibly going bankrupt and being taken over by the State. That would have caused massive tax increases and the City would have been in shambles.
Instead we have been increased by three notches and are now an “A” rating with a stable outlook.
A lot of that was because the City removed a large amount of bonds that former Mayor Tim O’Brien’s administration approved.
Yes. We are paying higher taxes, but taxes are not as bad as if the State had taken control.
Going in the right direction has to be attributed to Mayor Erin Stewart. She made the tough choices that kept New Britain from disaster.
No matter how much residents cannot afford the tax increases, and everyone hates them, it is far better than what we were facing.
S&P is not an easy group to please. They cited positive actions from the City, a structurally balanced budget and removing liabilities as reasons for the upgrade.
It was a slippery slope we were on and it took a lot of hard decisions to make it happen.
As the elections season rolls around, we will hear a lot of talk of the big tax increase and cuts that took place.
Each one of those was necessary and despite making us unhappy, were the right call.
The City cannot afford to take a step back. We need to keep in mind the reasons decisions were made no matter how hard they hurt.
This upgrade is just one sign that the City made the right choice in putting our future in Mayor Stewart’s hands.
It will take a few more giant steps to see New Britain shine again, but at least we can feel safe in knowing we are heading in the right direction.
