Hartford's Finances Spotlight Property-Tax Quandary -- Update

Hartford, Connecticut's capital city and hub of the state's insurance industry, is edging closer to joining a small club of American municipalities: those that have sought bankruptcy protection.

The city's $49.6 million budget hole and the impending departure of one of its biggest employers, Aetna Inc., have shined a light on its unusual predicament: Half of the city's properties are excluded from paying taxes because they are government entities, hospitals and universities.

It has less taxable property than the neighboring suburban community of West Hartford, which has less than half of the population than its urban neighbor. And Hartford's total property-tax receipts are about 25% below that of the tony community of Greenwich.

"The root of the problem is you have a city built on a tax base of a suburb," said Mayor Luke Bronin.

The mayor said the small tax base along with growing fixed costs produced structural budget deficits that prior administrations sought to deal with through asset sales, short-term debt restructuring and property-tax increases.

Mr. Bronin is now asking for financial help from the state. "My goal and my hope is that legislators from around the state of Connecticut will recognize that Hartford cannot responsibly solve a crisis of this magnitude at the local level alone," he said.

Around the U.S. the main source of funding generated by municipalities is property-tax revenue, contributing 47% of the money raised by local governments, according to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

For capital cities such as Hartford, much of the real estate is held by government departments that don't pay taxes. Hartford, with a population of about 125,000, is home to the University of Connecticut School of Law, Trinity College, Hartford Seminary and the state Supreme Court.

Other cities in similar situations include Boston, where just over half of the property in the city is tax exempt. In Baltimore, about 32% of the property is tax exempt, and in Philadelphia it's 27%.

While most U.S. cities are reporting healthy budget reserves that have returned to prerecession levels, Hartford is among a small but growing group of municipalities that are confronting rising levels of fiscal stress, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Other areas grappling with long-term financial problems driven by poor revenue growth and rising fixed costs include Jackson, Miss., and Wayne County, Mich.

Only 64 bankruptcies have been filed by cities, counties, towns and villages since 1954, according to James Spiotto, an attorney who tracks municipalities' bankruptcies. In 2013, Detroit became the largest-ever U.S. municipal bankruptcy case.

Victor Medeiros, a public-finance ratings analyst with S&P Global Ratings, which downgraded Hartford last month, said the city could face additional downgrades of several notches.

The credit-ratings firm will be watching whether Connecticut can reach a timely budget agreement and what level of financial assistance the state will be able to offer the city, he said.

The company and the other four biggest taxpayers in the city contribute nearly one-fifth of the city's $280 million of property-tax revenue. Property-tax receipts make up nearly half of the city's general-fund revenues.

Aetna, Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. and Travelers Cos. Inc., also Hartford's biggest employers, have said they would collectively give the city a voluntary payout of $10 million annually over the next five years to help avoid bankruptcy. But the companies have said they want to see comprehensive changes that allows the city to stabilize its finances.

The bigger concerns "are getting the city turned around where we can attract private-sector investment here to ultimately begin to drive" property taxes down, said Oz Griebel, chief executive of MetroHartford Alliance, a regional business group.

Since 2000, Hartford has increased its property-tax, or millage, rate seven times. The rate is now more than 50% higher than it was in 1998.

At the current level, a Hartford resident who owns a home with an assessed value of $300,000 currently pays an annual tax bill of $22,287, at rate of 7.43%. A West Hartford homeowner with a similar house pays $11,853 at a rate of 3.95%.

The city must pay nearly $180 million on debt service, health care, pensions and other fixed costs in the coming fiscal year beginning July 1. That is more than half of the city's budget, excluding education.

Mr. Bronin said one-time budget fixes and tax increases won't cut it anymore. After cutting 15% of the city's nonuniformed workforce, he said he won't reduce the number of police officers or firefighters and added that further trimming of city services would be irresponsible.

Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy last week said Hartford and the state Legislature would have to accept more oversight of the city's finances in exchange for state assistance. "I do not support additional moneys going to our challenged urban environments without a review process," Mr. Malloy said.

Connecticut House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, a Hartford Democrat, said everyone in the capital understands that it is in the state's best interest to make sure the city has a sustainable future.

Bankruptcy "doesn't just affect Hartford," Mr. Ritter said. "It would affect neighboring communities, it would affect the state, it would probably affect our credit ratings."

Write to Joseph De Avila at joseph.deavila@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 06, 2017 16:33 ET (20:33 GMT)