Unexpended funds in Connecticut
Bridgeport, Connecticut's largest city and home to Recovery Community Development, budgeted $5.5 million to provide rental assistance, local home weatherization, new affordable housing development and funding for nonprofits that provide transitional housing to individuals and families. That's good news for those in need in Connecticut's big cities where we're seeing such budget shocks, but the same can't be said for many smaller towns and cities across Connecticut.
Information collected by the federal government This past April showed that Connecticut's 169 municipalities budgeted about 1% of their share of federal money for housing-related projects. The big question is, with so much available to work on housing development in Connecticut towns and cities, why are so few people taking advantage of the funding?
This seems like an obvious missed opportunity for Connecticut as a whole to take substantial steps toward a more equitable and affordable housing situation. According to data collected in 2020 (Maximum Capability Analysis), Connecticut ranked 40 out of 50 for affordability.
As we look at the question of why the budget accounts for so little of the available funds, it is important to remember that Connecticut is one of the few states that does not have a county government. In most states, counties are the primary governing bodies under the state government Unlike much of it, Connecticut did not have that level of local government The Connecticut General Assembly abolished all county government in 1960.