In This Issue:
From Paddi's Desk
CT Agency Corner
Municipal Roundup
Inside Scoop
This Day in CT History
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OPM Revises Revaluation Schedule for Municipalities
The Office of Policy and Management (OPM) has utilized new legislative authority to adjust the property tax revaluation schedule for towns in order to incentivize more neighboring towns to consider regionalizing those services.
The effort, which was adopted by legislation last session, has been worked on by OPM for four years with wide consideration by revaluation companies, local assessors and regional council of governments to configure how to most appropriately adjust the schedules.
One of the most complicated components of executing this was how to get towns with the same revaluation district to be on the same revaluation cycle if their timeline was distinctly different from a neighboring town. As an example, the state normally requires a revaluation to take place every five years but with the passage of the law last session OPM was able to both accelerate and delay certain towns to have that cycle mirror each of those regions.
Curious as to when your town will now be reevaluating your taxes. Check out this pdf with the latest approved schedule.
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As the incoming Chair of the CT Main Street Center, I’ll take the opportunity in this In the Loop edition to highlight the announcement of the new Executive Director of CMSC this week. Michelle McCabe brings several years of non-profit management experience to CMSC, coming from HomeBridge Ventures, a non-profit focused on holistic workforce development and re-entry programming for formerly incarcerated individuals, where she has served as Interim Executive Director since last October. Prior to that, Ms. McCabe spent seven years as Director of the FEED Center with The Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport. In the course of this work, she built multiple programs from the ground up, leading strategic planning and fundraising efforts, and guiding boards and staff through organizational change. Her experience also extends to successful public/private collaborations, community engagement, and policy advocacy.
Ms. McCabe is expected to lead CMSC through a time of growth, helming a recently doubled staff of six. Her experience in program development and strategic planning will be especially useful as CMSC continues to expand its educational and technical assistance programming, member assistance offerings, and looks to take a larger role in championing statewide policies that benefit Connecticut’s downtowns and Main Streets.
For those reading this who are not familiar with the CT Main Street Center, I encourage you to check them out at ctmainstreet.org
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The People's House
As we walk into the hot days of door knocking, phone calling, and events that come with campaign season, the focus this week brings us to the People’s House. The Connecticut State House of Representatives is part of the Connecticut General Assembly working with the State Senate and Governor to create laws and, as we have found, is very important to how the state functions. It establishes a state budget while lowering and sometimes raising taxes. With over 150 members of the House, there are many different schools of thought throughout the CGA. Why does this election matter more than others? In 2021, maps were re-drawn for each of the state seats after the census, a.k.a. redistricting. The Connecticut Reapportionment Commission met following the census report to redraw the lines making sure enough people were in each district. The commission, made up of four Democratic lawmakers, four Republican lawmakers along with a ninth member, sets these lines and this cycle will be the first time they come into play.
The history of the Connecticut State House is defined by party control. Republicans began pre-1962 in party control of a legislature that was strongly driven by those in power. Democrats took back the house and maintained control for years, with a huge margin from 1992 to 2004. During that time, Democrats maintained 90+ seats. It turned out the same in 06’ and 08’ as the national conversation turned more in favor of the Democratic Party with the rise of President Barack Obama. Interestingly enough, in 2014, the Republicans made-up a lot of seats getting to 64 total and 72 in 2016. Since then, there have been just a few seats we identify as toss-ups or bellwether seats. The history of the House of Representative at the Connecticut General Assembly is important as we head into an election that is different than years past, for several reasons.
With 151 State Representative elections and more than 25 sitting legislators retiring or choosing not to run for re-election, this November is huge. Redistricting and line-drawing since the census means new elections, new towns local legislators represent, and thus many new faces. Four months from today marks an election that as we have discussed in this blog, includes many statewide races and important State Senate elections. Now that we have a background of the importance of the People’s House at the state level as well as a history of the elections within it, next week we will pick some interesting races to focus on. More to come!
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July 8th: The Sermon That Terrified Its Way Into History
In the early 1740s, New England was in the midst of a sweeping religious revival now known as the Great Awakening. Charismatic evangelical ministers traveled from town to town on a mission to invigorate congregations with a renewed sense of Christian piety based on fear of damnation. They were inspired by the internationally famous George Whitfield, who had toured New England in 1740 preaching “hell and damnation” to huge crowds. The “itinerants,” as they were called, who followed in his footsteps, also often attracted overflow crowds wherever they preached.
In 1741, another wildly popular preacher, South Windsor-born Jonathan Edwards, was invited to preach to the congregation in Enfield (then a part of Massachusetts, but soon to be part of Connecticut after colony lines were redrawn in 1749). While neighboring communities had responded favorably to the Great Awakening, the people of Enfield had a reputation among itinerant preachers as a stubborn flock, complacent in their worship and reluctant to consider any change in their lackluster spiritual habits.
Rising to the challenge, Edwards whipped up one of the most powerful sermons in history. It was an especially scathing, “fire and brimstone” call to repentance titled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” which he delivered in Enfield’s Congregational church on the evening of July 8, 1741. The lengthy, unrelenting, and powerfully evocative sermon was intended to terrify the congregants into forsaking their sinful ways and rededicating their lives to God. With Puritan fervor, captivating oratory, and intensely frightening imagery, Edwards made the wrath of God seem both tangible and imminent as he drove home the sermon’s main message: “There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God.” Among Edwards unforgettable visual metaphors was one likening sinners to “loathsome insects” that dangled over the fires of Hell by a mere thread.
According to eyewitness accounts, Edwards’ sermon was astonishingly effective; he was interrupted several times by loud shrieks and wails of parishioners for whom the prospects of eternal damnation suddenly seemed all too real. Ironically, the conclusion of “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” which held out the the hope of salvation from Hell by renewed dedication to God — was barely heard over the chaotic noise of the panic-stricken crowd. Edwards and two other ministers with him worked far into the night to help channel and allay the fears of those who had suddenly fallen “under conviction” of their sinful natures.
Edwards’ visit to Enfield marked one of the most memorable events of the entire Great Awakening. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was later published in pamphlet form and became one of the best-selling pieces of religious literature of its time. Faith was awakened by fear, Today in Connecticut History.
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