M.O.R.E MISSION STATEMENT The Commission on Municipal Opportunities and Regional Efficiencies (MORE) will initiate a new approach to state and local government in Connecticut that will make our state more economically competitive in the short and long term.
M.O.R.E PLAN OF ACTION With an emphasis on cost efficiency through regional collaboration, the MORE Commission will identify existing costs of local government functions, the possibility of cost savings, the legal obstacles preventing those changes, regional entities that might carry out those functions more efficiently and the means of ongoing tracking and evaluating of those initiatives.
The Commission will also concentrate on specific subject areas, including regional collective bargaining, local education, mandate relief, local revenue streams, state grants to municipalities and health care and with the goal of producing legislative recommendations in phases, the first of which will be enacted during the 2010 session.
M.O.R.E MEMBERSHIP The MORE Commission is comprised of Democratic legislators, and municipal, regional, education, business, union and non-profit representatives.
News Blog
May 5, 2010 REGIONALISM: LEGISLATURE CAN PASS FOUR WAYS TO SAVE
For as long as most of us can remember, "regionalism" was treated as a four-letter word in the Land of Steady Habits. Towns went it alone, more or less. But with the state and most municipalities in dire fiscal straits, there is a growing sense that regional cooperation can save money without damaging cherished community ties. READ MORE
April 30, 2010 HOUSE PASSES BILLS ON MUNICIPAL EFFICIENCIES - REGIONALISM Legislation Allows Greater Cooperation Between Towns – Saves Money Today, the Connecticut House of Representatives passed a four-part legislative package that takes a comprehensive approach to regionalism, municipal cost savings, and shared efficiencies between cities and towns. READ MORE
March 3, 2010 SPEAKER DONOVAN, REP. SHARKEY ANNOUNCE RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR REGIONALISM AND STREAMLINING OF GOVERNMENT
MORE Commission Identifies Cost Savings for Municipalities House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan (D-Meriden) and Rep. Brendan Sharkey (D-Hamden) unveiled the First Phase Recommendations of the Speaker's Blue Ribbon Commission on Municipal Opportunities and Regional Efficiencies (MORE) at a press conference Wednesday at the Legislative Office Building. READ MORE
January 16, 2010 DEMOCRATS PLEDGE PROGRESS FOR 2010
They have been down this road many times before, but House Democratic leaders Thursday said this could be the year they make progress. READ MORE
January 16, 2010
EXPLORING REGIONALISM: WORTHY TASK WON'T BE EASY NEW COMMISSION • How can the state help towns work together?
We do not envy state Rep. Brendan Sharkey his new challenge. Mr. Sharkey, a Democrat from Hamden, has been named to head a blue-ribbon commission charged with finding money-saving efficiencies through regional cooperation. With towns struggling and the state facing a possible $6 billion deficit by 2013, sharing of municipal services can and should be a way to economize.
READ MORE
January 14, 2010 HOUSE DEMOCRATS LAUNCH COMMISSION TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES
FOR REGIONALISM, MUNICIPAL COST SAVINGS AND EFFICIENCIES Speaker Donovan: 'We can be doing more with less;' Commission aims to enact legislation in 2010
House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan (D-Meriden) and House Majority Leader Denise Merrill (D-Mansfield) today launched a commission that will seek to identify opportunities for more regional collaborations designed to create efficiencies and save money for municipalities. READ MORE
January 5, 2010 SMART GROWTH
My full-time job and background is in cytology, which is a laboratory science that deals with the microscopic identification of cancerous cells. My worldview has been shaped in part by my professional experience, and I sometimes am inclined to notice similarities between how cancers operate and how other destructive processes operate in our society. When I see inner cities struggling with decay and social inequities, and sprawling suburbs experiencing residential growth that stresses local services and budgets, I can't help but liken it to the uncontrolled growth of an invasive cancer. READ MORE
January 2, 2010 REGION AGENDA, PART 6: CONNECTIONS EMPOWER METRO AREA
A half-century ago, Connecticut General Life Insurance Co. moved out of Hartford, to Bloomfield. The world has since changed. If Hartford were to lose a major employer today, the company might just as easily move to Des Moines, Atlanta or Austin. READ MORE
December 31, 2009 REGION AGENDA, PART 5: WHO WILL DO THE WORK?
In a discussion a few years ago about more regional activity in Greater Hartford, West Hartford Mayor Scott Slifka raised an important question: "Who will do the work?" READ MORE
December 30, 2009 REGION AGENDA, PART 4: REVENUE-SHARING ENABLES SMARTER GROWTH
The task force that studied smart, or responsible, growth under a 2007 law made a number of recommendations to Gov. M. Jodi Rell in early 2008, including: "Be fair. Promote equitable sharing of the benefits and burdens of development and diminish the competition for revenue that biases land-use decisions." READ MORE
December 29, 2009 REGION AGENDA, PART 3: HOW TO ACT REGIONALLY
Since the end of World War II, central Connecticut has been beset by suburban sprawl. Hartford has lost almost a third of its peak population, while former rural towns have boomed, although with low-density, auto-driven development. READ MORE
December 28, 2009 REGION AGENDA, PART 2: SHARE SERVICES WHERE IT MAKES SENSE
On Nov. 10, Canton named a new police chief, who will be paid $97,000 a year on a four-year contract. The new chief, John Murphy, is well qualified; that is not the point. The question is whether Canton should have named a police chief at all. READ MORE
December 27, 2009 REGION AGENDA, PART 1: LITTLE FIEFDOMS OR POWERHOUSE REGION?
Is 2010 the year that regionalism ceases to be a four-letter word in Greater Hartford and instead becomes a way of doing business, a way of presenting ourselves to the world? Is this the year Greater Hartford starts to become a metropolitan region instead of a quilt of municipal fiefdoms? READ MORE
December 18, 2009 STATE LOSING OUT
ON FEDERAL FUNDING FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Lawmakers urge governor to allow state to receive federal dollars
Speaker of the House Christopher G. Donovan (D-Meriden) and State Representative Brendan Sharkey (D-Hamden), House Chairman of the Planning & Development Committee, held a press conference at the State Capitol complex in Hartford today to highlight the millions of dollars in federal economic development funding the state is losing out on because the governor refuses to allow regions to apply for the grants. READ MORE
December 7, 2009 STATE SHOULDN'T CUT ECONOMIC DRIVERS
Just before Thanksgiving, Gov. M. Jodi Rell sounded the alarms on projected state budget deficits. She announced a $337 million mitigation plan to cut $84 million from already strapped municipalities and another $116 million in cuts that will devastate programs that promote job growth and services that protect our most vulnerable. READ MORE
September 6, 2009 PROPERTY TAX STABILITY WAS THE BIG WINNER IN STATE BUDGET BATTLE
Now that our longest summer of budget deliberations is finally over, the General Assembly's greatest achievement may be the easiest to overlook. Unlike so many of our sister states, the legislature's two-year budget, which will become law without the governor's signature, will not raise local property taxes by drastically cutting aid to municipalities and schools. READ MORE
May 21, 2009 SMART GROWTH PACKAGE INCLUDES
NEW REVENUE SOURCE FOR TOWNS Regionalism and Sales Tax Sharing Equals Win-Win for Municipalities
State Representative Brendan Sharkey (D-Hamden), House Chair of the Planning and Development Committee, hailed House passage of legislation he spearheaded to more efficiently deliver government services while saving taxpayers money. The legislation is a key first step to real property tax reform through regional cooperation incentives. READ MORE
April 8, 2009 SHARE SERVICES: TOWNS CAN SAVE BY TEAMING UP
More and more, Connecticut's cities and towns are comparing notes on how to make the municipal buck go further while trying to maintain the services their residents need. With the economy down and taxes high and trending higher, using this kind of neighbor-to-neighbor cooperation as a springboard to broader and lasting regional compacts makes sense. READ MORE
February 18, 2009 A REGIONAL APPROACH WOULD EASE THE BURDEN ON TAXPAYERS
There is an interesting dance at the State Capitol every year. Mayors and other municipal chief executives come to Hartford looking for more state funding and state officials do their best to oblige, recognizing the importance of municipal aid and its effect on property taxes. In good times, we find the money. In bad times, we hold the line. In bad times of historic proportions….well, that is where we are today… we have the opportunity to do something historic. READ MORE
February 5, 2009 REGIONALISM GETS A WELCOME BOOST
Certainly it's an issue overshadowed by the dramatic drop in Connecticut's financial fortunes and its consequences for state government, but Gov. M. Jodi Rell gave a modest boost to the concept of regionalism in her budget address to the General Assembly on Wednesday. READ MORE
Smart Growth —moving forward with M.O.R.E
State Representative Brendan Sharkey (D-Hamden), House Chair of the Planning and Development Committee, assembled a bipartisan Smart Growth Task Force that produced a number of legislative initiatives, the cornerstone of which was to give towns important new tools to achieve cost savings and lessen property tax burdens.
The legislation package includes the following bills from 2009: PA 09-80 (HB 6463) - An Act Concerning Membership on Regional Planning Agencies PA 09-165 (HB 6466) - An Act Concerning Projects of Regional Significance PA 09-230 (HB 6467) - An Act Concerning Smart Growth and Plans of Conservation and Development PA 09-231 (HB 6585) - An Act Concerning Regionalism PA 09-235 (HB 6097) - An Act Concerning Brownfield Development Projects
Building on the success of the Smart Growth Working Group, the Municipal Operations and Regional Efficiencies (MORE) Commission looks to expand the scope by exploring opportunities for a more regional collaborative approach in a variety of areas, looking for ways to achieve cost savings and efficiencies.
The MORE Commission is comprised of Democratic legislators, municipal, regional, education, business, unions, and non-profit entities.
Public Hearings
March 10th at 11:30 a.m.
Room 2B
Planning and Development Committee
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