State legislators are struggling over whether to approve Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's request for $54 million in cuts to cities and towns in the next fiscal year to balance the state budget.
The two most influential groups on local issues at the state Capitol - the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and the Connecticut Council of Small Towns - are both fighting hard against Malloy's proposed reductions that would cut about $2.2 million from Hartford, nearly $500,000 in Middletown and New Britain, more than $230,000 from West Hartford, and nearly $100,000 in South Windsor.
One insider said that municipal aid is "by far the number one issue'' and "the big hangup'' among Democrats at the Capitol.
With Malloy facing huge opposition to local aid cuts, he is expected to drop his plans for the cuts, sources said Thursday.
COST and CCM are trying to block all of the cuts, including millions of dollars for road construction, after-school programs, and nurses in private schools.
"Eliminating these grants will leave a big hole in the budgets of our small towns,'' said Elizabeth Gara, the public policy director at COST. "Cuts at this juncture will throw towns into turmoil, forcing deep cuts in municipal programs, layoffs of key personnel or property tax increases. ... Small towns simply can't absorb any additional cuts in municipal aid.''