Supporting Farmers, Fighting for Fairness

Yesterday, I attended a public forum with farmers from across the state at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. The event was sponsored by legislative Republicans in response to a change in policy by the state that would have severely increased property taxes on Connecticut farmers. While the Governor's ninth-hour decision to return to the previous methodology for assessing farmland is a small win for farmers, it is still uncertain as to what may happen in the future.

Perhaps most disturbing about this whole episode is when asked by farmers how the state Office of Policy and Management (OPM) derived at the new numbers, farmers were told that it was based on a survey that very few had answered. The process used to create the new tax structure not only lacked transparency, but it was also suggested that if the farmers desired answers to their questions on the new assessment methodology, they would have to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to get their queries answered. This is just plain unacceptable. I look forward to continuing to fight for our farmers and working to get their questions answered in the upcoming legislative session, which begins on Feb. 4.