Torrington, Connecticut

Torrington is the largest city in Litchfield County, Connecticut . As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 35,202, but a July 1 , 2004 estimate put the city's population at 36,248. It is the largest city in Litchfield County and in northwest Connecticut. It is also the core city of the largest of the country's Micropolitan Area s.

Abolitionist John Brown was born in Torrington in 1800.

The city was settled in 1735 . It was incorporated as a town in 1740 and as a city in 1923 . In 1955 , a flood destroyed much of the Downtown area.

Today Torrington is an aging former industrial town in need of by the Warner Brothers film studio, has been reborn as a performing arts venue and arts instruction organization, and it will be a focal point for any further downtown revitalization. The current mayor of Torrington is 22-year-old Ryan Bingham.

GEOGRAPHY

According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 104.6 Km&² (40.4 Mi&² ). 103.1 km&² (39.8 mi&²) of it is land and 1.5 km&² (0.6 mi&²) of it is water. The total area is 1.41% water.

DEMOGRAPHICS

As of the Census ² of 2000, there were 35,202 people, 14,743 households, and 9,125 families residing in the city. The Population Density was 341.6/km&² (884.7/mi&²). There were 16,147 housing units at an average density of 156.7/km&² (405.8/mi&²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.03% White , 2.15% Black or African American , 0.20% Native American , 1.83% Asian , 0.02% Pacific Islander , 1.31% from Other Races , and 1.47% from two or more races. 3.30% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 14,743 households out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were Married Couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.1% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,841, and the median income for a family was $54,375. Males had a median income of $37,702 versus $28,418 for females. The Per Capita Income for the city was $21,406. 7.4% of the population and 4.5% of families were below the Poverty Line . 8.4% of those under the age of 18 and 6.9% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

CITY FINANCIAL REPORT (2004)

The City of Torrington typically collects 100% of taxes owed through the use of private tax collectors.

The 2004 General Fund budgetry fund balance was $5.8 million. The City has bonded debt outstanding of $36.8 million for governmental activities and $4.2 million for business type ( WPCA ). All current outstanding bonded debt will be retired by the year 2021 (current estimate).

Torrington's bond rating is A1.

In 2004, total revenue was $88,444,157: Property Taxes (64.40%), Board of Education Grants (23.44%), Federal & State Grants (7.06%), General Government (3.67%), Public Safety (0.64%), Public Works (0.53%), Invest Income (0.26%), and Recreation (0.01%).

Total expidentures and encumbrances were $88,679,873: Board of Education (53.41%), Public Safety (12.97%), Pension & Miscellaneous (10.58%), Public Works (8.34%), Debt Services (7.69%), General Government (3.49%), Public Health & Social Services (1.99%), Operating Transfers Out (0.85%), Recreation (0.40%), Second Part Budget (0.29%).

Torrington schools and the city government have implemented a system to streamline workflow of shared services between them. The goal is to ultimately reduce costs and to financialy manage the services. Future plans to initiate these shared factilities include the co-location of the school systems's finance office with that of the city.

CRIME

The number of violent crimes recorded by the FBI in 2003 was 139. The number of murders and homicides was 0. The violent Crime Rate was 3.9 per 1,000 people.

SPORTS TEAMS

Twisters ( New England Collegiate Baseball League )

EXTERNAL LINKS

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Torrington, Connecticut

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