45°
“Our city’s economy is growing and getting stronger by the day,” said Finch. “That’s why I’ve been working hard to boost confidence in our city. I’m proud to say that we’re on the right track and our city is on the way up. ... This budget is reflective of that.”
Here are the key budget numbers in Finch's proposal:
- Grand list (proposed): $7.114 billion
- Mill rate (proposed): 42.19 mills
- Education spending growth: $4.6 million
- Noneducation spending growth: $3.9 million
- Total growth: $8.5 million
- Total budget: $532 million
Upon taking office in 2007, Finch inherited an $18 million budget deficit, according to Bond Buyer. Since then, he’s removed 190 jobs from the government payroll and working with the private sector to grow jobs at businesses across the city.
The city’s Grand List has once again grown this year.
Several key economic development projects are currently underway across the city that will help bolster job creation across the city, including:
- Steelpointe Harbor: Once complete, it will serve as a 2 million square foot regional waterfront destination. Spanning 82 acres, it will feature more than 750,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and entertainment, a 12-screen premium theater, two hotels, 1,100 mid- and high-rise residential units, 30,000 square feet of office and a 200-slip deep-water marina. It will create thousands of jobs and add millions to the city tax rolls annually.
- Improving downtown: It’s home to hundreds of new apartments, several new businesses, and many companies. Fletcher-Thompson, an architecture firm founded in Bridgeport more than 100 years ago, left in 2002. But Fletcher-Thompson decided to come back, bringing with it 60 new jobs. And Downtown North will soon to be home to hundreds of new apartments.
- East Bridgeport Development Corridor: The cornerstone of this revitalization project is Barnum Station, which will serve as the city's second Metro-North stop.
- Eco-Technology Park on the West Side: It is now home to dozens of green businesses, such as Tri-State Biodiesel, and has resulted in hundreds of new jobs.
“In this budget, I am making an additional $3.8 million available to Superintendent Rabinowitz and the Board of Education because I am committed to preparing Bridgeport kids to compete for the jobs of tomorrow,” said Finch.
Over the past year, Bridgeport has added more than 360 new pre-K seats and now serves more than 3,800 city kids.
In the Park City, the 46 parks total nearly 1,356 acres. The city is renovating old and opening new parks. Pleasure Beach reopened for the first time in nearly two decades and 25,000 people visited the barrier island last year.
Other new parks include Knowlton Park, which sits where the Acme Shear Co. used to be, and Nob Hill Park on Virginia Avenue. And, there have been Improvements at 16 different parks with multiple districts receiving new basketball courts, splash pads, playscapes, and baseball and soccer fields.
“My vision – our vision – for this city and its future, is already taking shape,” said Finch. “For example, today you can stand on the white sand of a reopened, revitalized Pleasure Beach and look out onto Steel Pointe, where development is finally happening. There are new and improved views like this across the city, and many more to come as the city reclaims its waterfront.
"Together, we've accomplished a lot. And, there is so much more to come. But one thing is clear: This budget proposal shows that Bridgeport is getting better every day.”
Finch's budget is attached as a pdf below or can be seen here.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Bridgeport and receive free news updates.
