NEWINGTON - A visit from the town’s state delegation left questions regarding municipal aid impact as state and local officials alike await Governor Malloy’s proposed budget.

       Senator Paul Doyle, as well as State Representatives Gary Byron, Tony Guerrera, and Rick Lopes discussed with Town Councilors everything from legislative proposals to curb the flow of unfunded mandates and what to expect regarding taxes, to their their own ideas on how the state can raise revenue over what promises to be difficult years ahead during last night’s Council meeting.

       But Mayor Roy Zartarian led off with what he referred to as â€�"the 800-pound gorilla in the room”: what towns can expect to see in the way of state-mainly, Education Cost Sharing (ECS).

       For legislators, that will depend on how the Governor’s budget proposal shapes up, Guerrera said.

       â€�"I wish I had better news, but as we all know, the state is running a very serious deficit. It’s going to be a difficult year, for all municipalities,” he said.

       But the priorities of past years-ECS and other town aid funding, as well as the preservation of critical services to vulnerable populations-remain, Guerrera said.

       And when that budget proposal does come out, it will be far from the final figure, Doyle reminded Councilors.

       â€�"Whatever he does is a starting point. We’re as curious as you are,” Doyle said.

       â€�"The Governor has been hinting toward another lean year,” Lopes said. â€�"They haven’t boiled down to municipal aid yet, but we have a feeling at some point they’re gonna reach that level.”

       The silver lining there is that if that scenario plays out, residents can expect at most, a modest tax increase, but with that comes the impact of cuts, Doyle said.

       â€�"There’s not gonna be a 2011-significant tax increase. That’s why we’re emphasizing the pain here,” he said. â€�"We could raise taxes a bit and it would minimize some of it, but that’s not the consensus. I don’t see it happening.”

       Much of the discussion centered on where the state can find savings.

       â€�"We [in Newington] are in a very tight budget spot as you know,” DelBuono said. â€�"While there are big issues, we need to be looking at a lot of littler things too. They add up.”

       One consistent stream of new costs is unfunded mandates-on both the town and education side-Councilors noted.

       To that, the legislature may be looking at a bill that would require a two-thirds majority-instead of a simple majority-to approve the imposing of new mandates.

       When town across the state saw their current year ECS grant reduced, some municipal leaders called for the state to reexamine unfunded mandates.

       â€�"A great argument can be made where, here, you are cutting ECS and municipal aid but ironically, you’ve raised the amount of unfunded mandates in both categories,” Byron said.” It doesn’t make any fiscal sense.”

       Lopes suggested that local leaders identify specific mandates for legislators to target.

       Doyle said that reform in that area is certainly worth a shot, but that lawmakers would be almost certain to see resistance from advocacy groups for entities such as newspapers, for example, which rely on costly public notice mandates for revenue.

       â€�"Real people are behind them, so it’s not so easy to change,” he said. â€�"Every issue has an advocacy group we have to contend with.”

       So the discussion turned to revenue, with Guerrera renewing his call for a statewide shift to electronic tolling in the border areas as a means to replace the diminishing gasoline tax revenue.

       Councilor Gail Budrejko expressed skepticism, describing such a measure as â€�"an extra tax” on state residents.

       But as cars become more fuel efficient-and even hybrid-the state may need to bump up rates in another tax revenue stream in the absence of an ambitious new initiative, Guerrera said.

       â€�"How are we gonna fund our roads?” he said. â€�"We gotta form another tax. Or raise another tax-not by 5 cents. You’re gonna have to raise it by like a dollar.”

       Byron admitted that although he has his own reservations about the proposal, it’s at least worth a look in light of the alternative.

       â€�"I have that same perception that it’s just another tax inflicted on us,” he said. â€�"But if there’s a choice-I hear a lot from constituents-there’s more people in this town who favor tolls [over new or increased taxes].”