Opinion: Investing in a better Hamden
By Walter L. Morton IV for the New Haven Register
Hamden’s budget is about more than just numbers on a spreadsheet — it’s about our values as a town and as a community. This year, thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act, we have a historic and unprecedented opportunity to use $18 million in one-time federal dollars to strengthen the very fabric of our community and impact residents’ lives for the better.
In other words, this is our chance to live our values.
Our town — like so many across the country — was awarded millions in ARPA funds to assist with recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and invest in our communities. While these funds can’t be used to pay down debt or create tax cuts, the federal government has given municipalities across the country broad leeway in deciding how to spend the funds, allowing them to be expended on everything from infrastructure projects, partnerships with local nonprofits, impacted small businesses, environmental remediation and behavioral health supports for residents.
Hamden has until 2024 to disburse these funds. So the question is, how will we choose to spend them?
We can start by making our town friendlier for business looking for a place to thrive by using a portion of our ARPA funding to rewrite the town’s planning and zoning regulations. I’ve heard it from small business owners day in and day out — one of Hamden’s greatest impediments to attracting and keeping businesses are its outdated and antiquated zoning regulations.
If a business large or small is thinking about moving to Hamden, we must make it as simple as possible to grow and do business here. Investing in this endeavor will lead to eventual grand list growth while putting Hamden on track to meaningfully reduce its mill rate and provide much-needed property tax relief for residential homeowners in the future. By putting in the time and resources to update our planning and zoning regulations, we can get bureaucracy and red tape out of the way for the business community, and strengthen our economy in the long run — it’s a no-brainer.
