STATE REPRESENTATIVE
Bob Godfrey
Serving the 110th Assembly District
Legislative Office Building, Room 4107
Hartford, CT 06106-1591
Capitol: 800-842-1902
Bob.Godfrey@cga.ct.gov
Danbury War Memorial
The War Memorial Building is more than a monument to my fellow veterans: it is also a community center, gym, voting place, and our emergency shelter. Last year I brought home $498,000 to repair its old and leaking roof. This year I brought home $2,500,000 for its collaboration with the Connecticut Institute for Communities to create and renovate space at the War Memorial, and acquire the former YMCA off of Main St.
State Bonding For Danbury
- $10,000,000 for Praxair’s building to save and create jobs
- $3,856,250 for The CT Institute for Communities
- To acquire and renovate the former YMCA
- To renovate new Head Start classrooms
- To add new computer systems for their health care offices
- $1,000,000 for the Richter House for repairs and renovations
- $250,000 for Family and Children’s Aid collaboration with the Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury for extra space
- $250,000 for repairs at the court houses
- $2,500,000 to rehabilitate the Fairfield Ridge Apartments
Funding the Services You Rely On
I represent about 25,000 people, each with different priorities. I worked hard to include in the budget what is important to you, ensuring that working families have ample opportunities for success. That meant protecting funding for our public schools, colleges and universities, day care, senior citizens, veterans, health care and mental health care, roads, highways and bridges, busses and trains, our environment, police and fire protection, and most importantly jobs. The budget is balanced and under the constitutional spending cap.
Paying for Those Services
First, we saw that too many big corporations were hiding profits overseas or out-of-state to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. We closed that loophole, just like New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island have done.
Second, we closed loopholes that property tax-exempt corporations were using to take real estate off the tax rolls (which shifted the cost to you).
Third, we limited an income tax increase to individuals who make more than $500,000 a year (or couples who make more than $1,000,000), and even then by just a small amount. That impacts about 20,000 out of 1,500,000 households, or the top 1.3%. Our rates remain lower than New York and New Jersey. At the same time, we’ve begun a phase-out of the local property tax on motor vehicles, and protected research and development tax credits for innovative businesses.
Tough Spending Cuts
Balancing the budget was not just about taxes. We made over $1 billion in current services spending cuts to keep growth under 4%. Much of the cuts were in reduced overtime and workers’ compensation costs, but every part of government is effected.
Vital Transportation Investments Made
You have told me that traffic congestion is one of our neighborhood’s biggest concerns. Under the leadership of Governor Dannel Malloy, we’re committed to making the badly needed investments in our transportation system. They include widening and reconfiguring I-84 in our area (and across the state), upgrading the Danbury-Norwalk branch railroad, fixing local roads and bridges, and encouraging “smart growth” to avoid more sprawl and lessen our over-dependence on cars.