'Dumb Growth' and the Overreliance on Property Taxes

"Findings by the three groups...clearly link Connecticut's over reliance on the property tax with suburban and exurban sprawl that eats up precious open land and promotes disinvestment in already developed areas. And the reports show that towns of all types-- suburban, rural and urban--are being hurt....The state's overreliance on property taxation pits local governments against one another in a competition for tax growth that needlessly undermines the character of local communities, wastes resources, discourages cooperation and increases fiscal disparities....Especially hard hit are Connecticut's central cities and urbanized towns. The state's poor are concentrated in cities and towns with inadequate tax bases.....Open land in Connecticut continues to be developed at a dramatic rate."