Tax cut for Bridgeport homeowners axed...for now

Bridgeport property owners won?t be getting a promised $600 tax cut, at least not this year.Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch isn?t even two months into his first term and he's already being accused of breaking

News 12 Staff

Feb 1, 2008, 1:21 AM

Updated 6,149 days ago

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Bridgeport property owners won?t be getting a promised $600 tax cut, at least not this year.Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch isn?t even two months into his first term and he's already being accused of breaking a campaign promise. Finch campaigned on the promise of a $600 tax cut for property owners, but says right now that's impossible due to a growing budget deficit.
Finch says money that had been expected from the American Fabrics Property and the Steel Point project hasn't come through as quickly as hoped. As a result, Finch says there's a $6 million gap between the city budget he inherited and the city's revenues. Finch says the city is looking at a possible $16 million budget deficit. Former Bridgeport Mayor John Fabrizi says these types of last-minute budget crunches are typical for a city the size of Bridgeport.
However, Finch isn?t giving up on his campaign promise and considers the tax cut delay just a temporary setback. The mayor says he never promised the cut would be in his first year in office.
?I'm going to cut property taxes one way or the other, by hook or by crook, I just don't know when,? says Finch.