Under the leadership of State Senate President Pro-Tem Martin Looney (D-New Haven) and Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey (D-Hamden), the Connecticut General Assembly is poised to pass meaningful tax reform in 2015.

To their credit, in last year's legislative session both Sen. Looney and Speaker Sharkey introduced bills that aimed to alleviate the financial burden placed upon cities with high percentages of tax-exempt property. Although neither bill passed, this year Sen. Looney and Speaker Sharkey are pressing ahead in their efforts to make our tax system fairer. With both legislative leaders united, we have a rare opportunity to fix a major inequity in our property tax system.

New Londoners understand the problem well. We host a community hospital, three colleges, and a disproportionate number of social service and other nonprofit agencies. While the benefits of these nonprofits are shared by the entire region, their costs are born largely by New London.

Forty-three percent of the property in New London is tax exempt. Consequently, we're left with very little property with which to raise revenue to fund our schools, infrastructure and services. With a per capita income of under $23,000, our taxpayers struggle under a burden that they can ill afford. And New Londoners are not alone: Connecticut's five most distressed municipalities all have tax exempt property rates over 25 percent.

Municipalities do receive Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) from the state for a percentage of the revenue we'd receive if colleges, hospitals and state-owned properties weren't tax exempt. However, the reimbursement rate has fallen over the years. New London now receives one-third the revenue from PILOT that we'd receive if the properties, owned by L+M, Connecticut College and Mitchell College, were fully taxed.

All municipalities with nonprofits lose some revenue when property is taken off the tax rolls. However, for municipalities like Morris or Harwinton with less than 1 percent of their property tax exempt, the budgetary effect is relatively minor. For cities like New London, with large amounts of tax-exempt property, the financial impact is huge.

The reform proposed by Sen. Looney and supported by Speaker Sharkey addresses this disparity by setting up a tiered PILOT structure. Cities like New London, with a high percentage of tax exempt property, would see their PILOT reimbursement rate increase; cities with modest amounts of tax exempt property would see their reimbursement rate increase slightly, and cities with the least amount of tax exempt property would see their reimbursement rate remain the same. No municipality would receive less in PILOT than it currently receives, and the program would be fairer for municipalities least able to raise revenue through property taxes.

To put this proposal in perspective, if New London's PILOT reimbursement rate were to increase to 50 percent, we would receive an additional $2 million annually, a sum that could greatly alleviate the burden borne by New London taxpayers.

Speaker Sharkey also plans to introduce legislation enabling municipalities to keep on their tax rolls properties newly acquired by nonprofit hospitals and colleges.

During the 2015 legislative session, I will make it a priority to advocate for these bills however I am able. Last spring I traveled to Hartford to testify at a legislative hearing on PILOT reform. Last fall I testified again about the financial impact of tax exempt properties on New London's budget. Over the next few months I will phone; I will write; I will testify whenever possible.

I hope New Londoners, regardless of party affiliation, will join me in making their voices heard on this issue. For Connecticut, PILOT reform is an issue of basic fairness. For New London, it's a financial necessity.

Daryl Justin Finizio is the mayor of New London.