Connecticut Community Fund 2030: Funding a Community That You Ain't In

The week of March 9. 2026 was a monumental week in the sordid annals of Connecticut history. In this week, scores of disenfranchised and justifiably disaffected Connecticut citizens descended on the Connecticut State Legislature fighting for their very lives in matters of education, medical freedom, and matters of personal self-defense in front of a largely uncaring and supercilious legislature who in many ways could not care less about them. Meanwhile, state Republicans caucused and called conferences supporting the efforts of these dear people. However, when all the dust settled one equally sickening issue remained: The government of the state of Connecticut continues to take your money and throw it into the street. And the arrogance and disdain from the political class towards the unwashed masses regarding this issue continually reaches steroidal proportions. 

And in this latest fiscal boondoggle, no politician comes out a winner. But you, the taxpayer, continually come out the loser.

Therefore, welcome to the “Connecticut Community Fund 2030”.

What is the Connecticut Community Fund 2030? 

Depending on what you want it to be, it is yet another bureaucratic dive for your wallet that creates even more economic misery for you, the Connecticut Taxpayer. The supposed purpose of the  "Community Investment Fund 2030 (CIF) is a Connecticut state-run program established in 2021 (codified in CGS § 32-285a) designed to foster economic and community development in historically underserved and distressed municipalities."  (https://portal.ct.gov/communityinvestmentfund/about-the-fund). This fund started in 2021 and works through the should-be-abolished and failed Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development to give free money to  throw to his or her district like a gouty ward heeler. 

This fund is a bipartisan project. At the onset, it was intended to be funded for a mere $767 million dollars in its lifespan with a series of aspirational and/or questionable projects that you did not vote on, and regardless of how you may feel about it. But no one really gives a tinker’s dam about what you may think. And so what? Are we not supposed to pay attention to $767 million dollars to Connecticut taxpayers?  Especially since no amount of Taxpayer’s monies thrown any of the state's nonprofits/historically distressed communities and never-ending stream of "nonprofits" ever solves any of the massive social and economic problems of the state.

Here is some of the projects the Connecticut Community Fund has funded so far (https://portal.ct.gov/communityinvestmentfund/about-the-fund?language=en_US) : 

INTERNATIONAL HARTFORD - $1,137,514

The request of CIF funds is towards the construction of a year-round public food truck court for ethnic food vendors. The project will renovate an existing 5,500 square foot property at 681 Wethersfield Avenue. The facility will have both outdoor patios and indoor dining, a breakfast café with free community Wi-Fi, a community performance space for activities and programming, a lounge with music as well as outdoor musical concerts, a co-working kitchen space, cold and dry storage, graywater, and grease disposal – all in one environment, increasing efficiency for food truck operations.

CITY OF BRIDGEPORT - $3,500,000

“Civic Block” CIF funds will aid the completion of the East End development known as Civic Block. Funds will be used to complete construction to create 35,000 ft2 of retail space, including a grocery store in a neighborhood that is currently a food desert.

This project is interesting as there continues not to be much progress on the project. Does anyone have an accounting of money spent to date? Does anyone realize how much money has been given freely to Bridgeport to solve the never-ending years of fiscal theft, fiscal negligence, fiscal ineptness, and fiscal lies of all of their supposed economic development? Does anyone in Bridgeport feel they will benefit from a grocery store? 

Moreover, is there any starvation, scurvy, or beriberi taking place in this Bridgeport “food desert” to date?

TOWN OF HAMDEN - $5,400,000

“Arts & Cultural Center / Middle School Demolition”

This CIF award will enable the re-development of a former middle school that currently stands as a blighted, vacant structure within an Environmental Justice Block Group. CIF grant funds will go towards demolition and abatement of the structure, and community planning activities for the creation of a Community Campus on the site. 

Hamden, formerly a highly desirable town, now has a large theft and crime problem. Instead of worrying about "Environmental justice" maybe Hamden should worry about "Justice for victims of Hamden's never ending crime problem"? 

Or possibly how about some property tax relief or Kevlar shields for the bullet-ducking Hamden taxpayers?

Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, New London $ 2,020,096

New London Relocation PPSNE health centers promote the availability of high-quality family planning and reproductive services. PPSNE proposes to use CIF funds to renovate and expand the property at 467 Ocean Avenue in New London to become the new home of PPSNE’s New London health center. 

Connecticut is now such an economic wasteland that abortion is now considered to be a community and economic development activity.

YWCA Hartford Region, Inc., Hartford $ 1,500,000

Center for Racial Justice & Gender Equity YWCA is committed to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting justice, freedom, and dignity for all. YWCA proposes HVAC system enhancements as part of renovating its 50-year-old Hartford building to establish The Center for Racial Justice and Gender Equity. 

Hartford has a a serious theft and crime problem. Instead of worrying about "Racial justice" maybe Hartford should worry about "Justice for victims of Hartford's never ending crime problem"? But "Racial Justice" of course is a much higher priority than resident safety.

Make no mistake in that Connecticut is a hotly divided state between the aggressors and enablers vs. the aggrieved and besieged. But when it comes to pork-filled and quasi-useless-feed-the-monkey type spending, both sides of the aisle unify to incinerate your tax money in the street while they are calling for financial policing and ending waste, fraud, and abuse. My friend and colleague Tony De Angelo did a great job of explaining this very thing on the March 12 edition of THIRTY WITH TONY TRUE NORTH THIRTY WITH TONY MARCH 12 2026

But nothing ever seems to change in the Grand Nutmeg State, The list is endless for what is being spent on top of the $28 billion dollars yearly in the Connecticut State Budget. Kindly consider that the state has $100-150 billion dollars in short- and long-term debt along with unfunded liabilities before this latest jaunt into Community Investment. But no one in this history of Connecticut politics past or present ever seems to get that. The formula for insolvency and failure continues:  Keep throwing money out the window to a should-be-abolished agency with the result always leaving Connecticut at the bottom of the country in most economic categories. This unmitigated fiscal horror should make every Connecticut Taxpayer's blood boil. And the same pattern is repeated, year after year. 

But in fairness to Republicans let us never ever forget the root cause of the fiscal destruction of the state. The Connecticut Community Fund 2030  is another pure overreach of a never-ending money-wasting Democrat Party ruling authority eliminating local decision-making and facilitating a socialist command top-down planning regime. And in typical Connecticut fashion, there is no transparency whatsoever with respect to this fund and in accuracy, no member of the Board has advocated for your right to the same. Of course, this usual behavioral pattern continues as the state is facing at a federal investigation of Democrat State Senator Doug McCrory and the misuse of $750,000 in funds for the now bankrupt Blue Hills Civic Association. But with business as usual, McCrory is still Deputy President Pro Tempore, Chair: Education Committee, and Vice Chair: Public health; Government Oversight. But again, what is stealing $750,000 of Connecticut Taxpayers monies given the amount that has been stolen and wasted for the past 35 years? Its just a mere bag of shells.

Omnipotent one-party Democrat rule facilitating and enabling the same, and state government with no transparency has consequences. I am confident that down the road there will be even more committees, commissions, and politically appointed- highly paid incompetent-economically illiterate state employees who will talk incoherent economic gibberish while still we see the same horrific economic results. The waste and theft of Connecticut Taxpayers monies needs to stop today. Hopefully, the current federal investigation into State Senator McCrory will lead to many more investigations into Connecticut State Government's corruption. For we simply cannot have enough of them. The dear and hardworking citizens of Connecticut that have been aggrieved and harmed by Connecticut, deserve nothing less. There are no winners here whatsoever, only losers. And the losers here are the poor taxpaying citizens of Connecticut.