The Milford-Orange Times is continuing its election-year tradition of asking the candidates to respond to questions about what they would do for the residents of Milford and Orange if voters elect them. Election Day is Nov. 3.
Q: What will you do if elected to help make your district a more affordable place to live? Be as specific as possible.
State representative candidate Ray Collins III, Republican, District 117
Ray Collins III
As someone who lives in the 117th District and pays the same rising property taxes and electric bills as my neighbors, I know firsthand how hard it has become to keep up. These costs are not numbers on a spreadsheet for me, they show up in my own household budget every month.
When I talk with residents and small business owners in West Haven, Orange and Milford, the pressure is unmistakable. Seniors fear they may not be able to remain in the homes they have maintained for decades. Young families question whether they can raise their children in the communities where they grew up. Local businesses describe overhead that keeps climbing while customers have less to spend.
Connecticut ranks among the highest-taxed states in the country, carries the third-highest electricity costs and maintains one of the most burdensome overall tax systems. Despite repeated promises of relief, the current representative voted against increasing the property tax credit that would have delivered tangible help to homeowners and our towns and supported establishing a new statewide property tax.
If elected, I will make affordability the central focus of my work in Hartford and fight for concrete steps that return money to the people who live and work here.
I will push to increase the state property tax credit so more relief flows directly to homeowners. At the same time, I will work to eliminate or fully fund the unfunded mandates that Hartford imposes on our municipalities. These requirements force towns to raise local taxes to cover state directives. Ending or properly financing them will ease the upward pressure on property tax bills and restore decision-making closer to the people who pay those bills.
Energy costs require equally urgent action. The public benefits charge, a collection of dozens of government programs hidden on electric bills, adds 15 to 20 percent to a typical statement and costs ratepayers roughly a billion dollars a year across the state. I will fight to eliminate the public benefits charge so that any essential programs are funded openly through the state budget rather than buried on monthly utility statements. I will oppose new fees that increase the cost of electricity, heating oil or gasoline. Expanding reliable, affordable energy supply and shielding consumers from unfavorable long-term contracts will be priorities.
I also support meaningful middle-class income tax relief that can deliver more than $2,500 a year for the average family. I will work to repeal the highway use tax on trucks, a cost that is passed straight through to consumers in the form of higher prices on everyday goods. These measures can be achieved by cutting wasteful spending, reducing unnecessary borrowing and requiring state government to live within its means the same way every household and small business must.
The objective is straightforward: lower costs and more money remaining with the families and employers who earned it.
The 117th District needs a representative who experiences the same financial pressures as the people who live here and who will consistently fight for results instead of more of the same. I will be that voice, focused on higher property tax credits, lower energy bills, fewer unfunded mandates and real tax relief that helps residents stay in their homes and businesses keep their doors open. That is the commitment I make to the people of West Haven, Orange and Milford.