As I have written in recent posts, we are thrilled to have received a grant from the State Bond Commission for renovations and additions to our public library. We recently held a small celebration to celebrate the $1 million grant. You may remember that we also received a similar grant for the site work at the new EMS building in 2023.
In talking to folks about both, the question arose: What is the State Bond Commission? Bonding is typically done via the Governor’s capital budget or the legislature allocating funds that the state borrows (floats bonds) to use for discretionary spending on projects around the state. Towns and organizations apply for these funds, through different state agencies or departments (in this case the state library).
Requests can also be made to legislators, in the case of EMS through the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee. Once the allocation is authorized by the legislature, the State Bond Commission must put it on their agenda, which is set by the governor, for allocation, which can take several months. The members of the State Bond Commission can be found here. The commission is chaired by the Governor and made up of the attorney general, treasurer, comptroller, appointed cabinet secretaries. Co-Chairs and ranking members of the Finance Committee also serve.
Over the last several years we have been lucky to have been awarded some major grants from the bond commission. Of course, everything flows from the Governor’s administration and the executive branch agencies, and in that regard, we have been fortunate to foster a great relationship with him, particularly with Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz. The support of our local legislators has also been helpful.
The people of Easton pay a lot in income taxes to the state. I believe the town’s goal should be to ensure that we receive an appropriate level of support for important projects, bringing state funds back into town. Like all towns Easton will always have needs, infrastructure and otherwise, and to continually ask our taxpayers to fund all of them is unfair and unrealistic. We should continue to work with our allies in Hartford, to find opportunities for state support, like the bond commission. Ultimately, these state funds, when combined with local support, can help save our town on capital costs, while improving our local libraries, roads and other infrastructure.
