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HOMICIDE ARREST PRESS CONFERENCE AND REWARD
ANNOUNCEMENT
WHEN: Wednesday, June 7 at 1:00 PM
WHERE: Police Headquarters, 1 Union Avenue, 3rd Floor Atrium
WHO: Police Chief Karl Jacobson and Mayor Justin Elicker
WHAT: The New Haven Police Department will hold a press conference to announce an
arrest in the homicide case that occurred on November 6, 2020 at 162 Bassett Street. The
press conference will be held on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at 1:00 pm at the New Haven
Police Department headquarters, located at 1 Union Avenue, New Haven, CT, 06519.
The press conference will provide information on the investigation and the arrest of the
suspect. The identity of the suspect and other details of the arrest will be discussed during
the press conference.
Furthermore, the New Haven Police Department will announce a reward for information
leading to the arrest and conviction of the party responsible for the homicide of Nico
Seraceni. The reward will be discussed during the press conference.
MANNY JAMES
Arts & IDEA
TREASURER RUSSELL ANNOUNCES SUCCESSFUL $715 MILLION GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND SALE
Strong orders follow credit rating upgrade from Kroll and inaugural Investor Conference
HARTFORD, Connecticut – Thursday, Connecticut State Treasurer Erick Russell announced the results of the successful $715 million State of Connecticut General Obligation (GO) bond offering. The bonds will fund a variety of capital improvement and grant programs across Connecticut, and refinance existing bonds, saving taxpayers nearly $25 million over the next decade.
“This bond offering was tremendously successful, showcasing Connecticut’s strong standing with investors,” said Treasurer Russell. “Bonding is used to finance long-term projects of critical importance to state residents and our economy, supporting everything from roads and bridges to bioscience research. Effectively and responsibly managing these bonds ensures residents are getting the most value for their tax dollars and builds on the work to strengthen and stabilize state finances in recent years.”
The sale included a total of $450 million of new money bonds, consisting of $100 million 2023 Series A Tax-Exempt Bonds and $350 million 2023 Series A Taxable Bonds. Also included were $265 million 2023 Series B Tax-Exempt Refunding Bonds to refinance existing bonds for savings.
The strong demand for Connecticut’s bonds comes on the heels of the inaugural Connecticut Investor Conference, hosted last week by Treasurer Russell and Governor Ned Lamont. The event attracted nearly 300 attendees to Hartford to hear about state finances and ongoing projects from a collection of state leaders. Several of the investors that attended submitted orders for the bonds.
In advance of the sale, Kroll Bond Rating Agency (Kroll) upgraded the credit rating for the state’s GO bonds from “AA” to “AA+” with an Outlook of “Stable.”
The Kroll credit rating upgrade followed presentations made earlier this month to all four major credit rating agencies by Treasurer Russell and Office of Policy and Management Secretary Jeffrey Beckham.
“Connecticut is earning a reputation as a state with a strong commitment to fiscal responsibility and long-term growth,” said Treasurer Russell. “The process of getting to this point wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. We are seeing the positive impacts of those reforms in the actions of both ratings agencies and investors.”
Strong Orders from both Institutional and Retail Investors
Consistent with past practice, Treasurer Russell gave retail investors priority on the tax-exempt bonds on Wednesday May 31st. Retail orders received on the tax-exempt bonds totaled $687 million and Institutional orders exceeded $1.1 billion. This strong level of demand was helped in part from the Kroll credit rating upgrade, the Investor Conference, as well as the relative scarcity of Connecticut bonds in the secondary market.
The State’s GO bond sale was the second largest bond offering in the national market this week, which helped garner investor focus and attention.
The borrowing cost on the 20-year 2023 Series A tax-exempt bonds is 3.69% while the borrowing cost on the ten-year 2023 Series B tax-exempt refunding bonds is 3.08%. The 2023 Refunding Bonds will refinance existing higher-interest bonds and will result in debt service savings of $24.9 million over the next ten years. Total orders on the ten-year 2023 Series A Taxable Bonds exceeded $1.7 billion and resulted in a 4.69% borrowing cost.
The $450 million new money bonds will fund:
· $98.0 million for Grants to Non-Profits and Municipalities
· $67.9 million for Housing Developments
· $60.7 million for the State Pier in New London
· $50.6 million for Economic Development Programs
· $25.0 million for the Small Business Boost Fund
· $23.0 million for State Park Repairs and Maintenance
· $17.1 million for Information Technology Investments
· $16.7 million for Town Aid Road
· $16.0 million for the Brownfield Remediation and Revitalization Program
· $13.8 million for CT Bioscience Innovation Fund
· $12.2 million for Training and Education
· $12.0 million for Pedestrian ways, including walkways, bikeways, and trails
· $10.0 million for School Security Infrastructure Competitive Grants
· $9.6 million for the Strategic Defense Investment Program
· $8.6 million for the Capital District Center cogeneration power plant
· $8.8 million for Environmental and Other projects
Summary of GO Credit Ratings
Prior to the sale, Kroll upgraded the State’s GO bond credit rating to “AA+” with a “Stable” outlook and three credit rating agencies affirmed the State’s GO bond credit ratings as follows: Moody’s Investors Service at a “Aa3;” S&P Global Rating at a “AA-;” and Fitch Ratings at a “AA-.”All rating agencies attached a “Stable” outlook to the State’s bond credit ratings. Morgan Stanley, Inc. led the bond underwriting syndicate that sold the bonds. The bonds are scheduled to close on June 22, 2023.
More information on the State's bonding programs is available at www.buyctbonds.com.
*** END ***
May 31, 2023 – NEW HAVEN POLICE INVESTIGATING A DOUBLE
SHOOTING ON GEORGE STREET THAT LEAVES TWO INJURED
New Haven, CT – Last night at around 8:30 pm, officers were alerted through ShotSpotter to
nine rounds of gunfire in the area of 800 George Street. Shortly thereafter, NHPD dispatch
received a call that two individuals had arrived at Yale-New Haven Hospital on Chapel Street
with gunshot wounds. The victims were dropped off in a vehicle that was no longer at the
hospital. One of the victims suffered a non-life-threatening graze wound while the other had
serious injuries but is in stable condition.
Officers located a crime scene in the area of 800 George Street where they found nine fired
cartridge casings and a handgun with an obliterated serial number hidden under a parked
car. Detectives from the Major Crimes Unit and Bureau of Identification responded to the
scene to collect evidence, and search for video surveillance footage and witnesses. The
investigation is still ongoing.
The New Haven Police Department is asking for the public's help in solving this incident.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the New Haven Police
Department Investigative Services Division at (203) 946-6304 or through the department’s
anonymous tip-line at 866-888-TIPS (8477).
150+ EVENTS, ONE FESTIVAL. IT ALL HAPPENS IN NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.
Treasurer Erick Russell will be the Rotary Club of Wallingford’s monthly speaker on Wednesday, giving an update on the work of the Office of the Treasurer including the recent agreement to fund CT Baby Bonds and an upcoming General Obligation bond sale. He will also take questions from the audience.
What: Monthly Speaker at Rotary Club of Wallingford
When: Wednesday, May 31, 2023. 12:45pm
Where: Wallingford Elks #1365-148
- Main St.
Wallingford, CT
HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont, Treasurer Erick Russell, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, House Speaker Matt Ritter, and State Senator Pat Billie Miller today announced that funding has been identified for CT Baby Bonds, a first-in-the-nation initiative that invests directly in Connecticut children born into poverty, that will allow the program to begin on-time and reduce the overall cost by over $200 million.
The agreement, which will require legislative action, repurposes available reserves set aside during the restructuring of the Teachers’ Retirement Fund in 2019 and replaces them with a relatively inexpensive insurance policy. As a result, $381 million will be available for deposit into the CT Baby Bonds Trust, reducing the overall cost of the program by more than $200 million while maintaining the amount invested in each child and allowing those investments to begin as scheduled for the first eligible babies beginning this July.
Governor Lamont said, “This is a win for Connecticut. Connecticut’s Baby Bonds program will lift up young people as they reach adulthood and help address intergenerational poverty. I want to thank Treasurer Erick Russell for developing this new funding strategy that addresses my concerns surrounding the program’s implementation. Our new plan will save taxpayers’ dollars, avoid excessive bonding costs, respect our financial guardrails, and ensure that we are not sacrificing programs that help people today like Time to Own or Covered CT. I am also grateful for Senator Pat Billie Miller’s outstanding leadership in helping make today a reality.”
Treasurer Russell said, “CT Baby Bonds has the potential to transform the future of our state by providing opportunity and economic resources to the next generation of young Connecticut residents, regardless of the financial circumstances of their families. The plan that we are announcing today allows us to meet our commitment to those kids while avoiding any state borrowing and requiring no ongoing budgetary support. By funding these investments upfront, we will even reduce the overall cost of the program by over $200 million. I’m grateful for the support of Governor Lamont, legislative leaders, the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, and the broad collection of lawmakers and advocates that helped us arrive at this point. I’m eager to see this proposal passed into law this session.”
Senator Looney said, “I’m pleased the Baby Bonds program is going forward. It’s a creative and dramatic initiative to provide resources for low-income young adults who will have greater options as they enter their 20’s than they otherwise would have.”
Speaker Ritter said, “With CT Baby Bonds we are providing a footing for families who often feel like they are stuck in financial quicksand. I want to thank Treasurer Russell, Governor Lamont, and my legislative colleagues for keeping the conversations going and finding solutions to ensure CT Baby Bonds are available to invest in Connecticut children.”
Senator Miller, who serves as chair of the legislature’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, said, “CT Baby Bonds was created to help combat Connecticut’s wealth gap and level the playing field for children in our state that would otherwise be locked out of full economic participation. Passing this program into law was a top priority of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus and helped position Connecticut as a national leader in combating systemic poverty. I’m heartened and relieved that CT Baby Bonds will now finally be funded so that we can begin our obligation of investing directly in the next generation of Connecticut children.”
Senator Marilyn Moore said, “As I use my voice to advocate for thousands of residents in Connecticut, I look at initiatives through a racial equity lens. CT Baby Bonds work to address the wealth gap and level the playing field for all children born into poverty. I am relieved that we have identified a solution that will enable the State Treasurer to implement this opportunity for low-income families.”
In 2021, Connecticut became the first state in the nation to pass baby bonds legislation. Under the current law, $3,200 would be invested on behalf of each child born into poverty, as determined by their birth being covered by HUSKY, the state’s Medicaid program. Those investments would grow over time and become available to participants between the ages of 18-30 for specific uses intended to build individual wealth and spur statewide economic growth.
Funds can be used to buy a home in Connecticut, start or invest in a Connecticut business, pay for education or job training, or save for retirement. To be eligible for the funds, participants must be a Connecticut resident at the time and complete a required financial literacy training.
As originally constructed, the program would require $600 million in state bonding spread over 12 years. The solution announced today instead begins investing $381 million immediately, capitalizing on more time for returns to grow to reduce the overall funding required.
In 2019, to enable the restructuring of the Teachers’ Retirement Fund, the state deposited $381 million of that year’s budget surplus into a special reserve fund. Its purpose was to provide additional guarantees of annual debt service payments on certain pension obligation bonds. Owing in part to the tremendous progress made to stabilize Connecticut’s finances, including credit rating increases, filling the Rainy Day Fund and making significant additional contributions to its pension funds, with legislative changes, that reserve account can now be replaced with a relatively inexpensive insurance policy.
As a result, the $381 million originally held in reserve can be made available for deposit into a trust created for CT Baby Bonds. The interest already generated on that initial reserve deposit will be sufficient to also cover the full cost of the new insurance policy, requiring no additional funding. CT Baby Bonds can be funded with no impact on the current biennial state budget being crafted by lawmakers.
An estimated 15,000 Connecticut births are covered by HUSKY each year, including residents in all 169 towns. Eligible babies born on or after July 1, 2023, will be automatically allocated a share of the CT Baby Bonds Trust.
Governor Ned Lamont, Treasurer Erick Russell, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, House Speaker Matt Ritter, and State Senator Pat Billie Miller held a news conference at the State Capitol in Hartford to announce that funding has been identified for CT Baby Bonds, a first-in-the-nation initiative that invests directly in Connecticut children born into poverty, that will allow the program to begin on-time and reduce the overall cost by more than $200 million.
- Twitter: @GovNedLamont
- Facebook: Office of Governor Ned Lamont
