Norwalk Joins Stamford, Bridgeport in Rebranding Efforts to Attract Business

Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling and Economic Development Director Elizabeth Stocker have selected South Norwalk-based branding and design firm, Zunda Group, to develop a strategic marketing plan that will include a brand implementation program.. With this week's announcement, Norwalk becomes the third major municipality in Fairfield County to turn to a rebranding initiative to boost business prospects and spark interest among potential developers. Bridgeport and Stamford have similar efforts either underway or in the planning stages.

Mayor Rilling said that “Norwalk recognizes the power of presenting the city with a strong brand image” and is moving forward as part of his recently released economic development action plan, which aims to capitalize on the city’s assets, attract and sustain new business, develop its workforce, and to continually improve its quality of life.

Rilling stated that “essential to the plan’s success is the city’s ability to communicate and build local pride around an ownable brand position that brings to life Norwalk’s unique personality and benefits.   Norwalk has an eye on the future and the new brand will elevate its position as a destination to live, work and play.”  The new branding and marketing communication is targeted to launch in early 2016.

Norwalk doesn’t need to look far to see other municipal branding efforts underway. 

Thomas Madden, Stamford’s economic development director, told the Fairfield County Business Journal this summer that the city Office of Economic Development is working on a multiphase plan to make Stamford more attractive to businesses in a nationally competitive market. Initiatives include conducting research on Stamford’s economic landscape, outreach, rebranding and improving digital resources, the business paper reported.

“It puts us on par with a lot of the economic development corporations to make sure we have the right information out there to make businesses look at Stamford,” Madden said, noting that it is the first time this type of project has been undertaken in Stamford. Planning began about a year ago, and the nonprofit Stamford Partnership, a civic organization, is leading the effort with Stamford-based brand development company Daymon Worldwide handling the marketing.

Daymon is to conduct surveys and focus groups in Stamford and in the tristate area exploring people’s views on Stamford. The data will guide which industries Stamford should focus on and provide guidance to the city’s Office of Economic Development regarding information about income level, incentives, taxes and transportation that can be highlighted in brochures to distribute to businesses considering Stamford as a location. It is anticipated that Stamford will begin using a new logo and launch a marketing campaign as part of the initiative.

In Bridgeport, the administration of incumbent Mayor Bill Finch is already working with a pair of companies -- Mandate Media of Oregon and Gum Spirits of Maine – on an advertising campaign launched late last year, “Better Every Day.”  Mandate has created an economic development website, www.bridgeportbettereveryday.com, along with a digital and web-based marketing strategy for the city.  Ads have been seen not only locally but in statewide media, such as the website CT Capitol Report.  Gum Spirits was to develop radio and television spots focused on local success stories and revitalization efforts, according to plans for the initiative, and a series of videos are currently posted on the website.

According to the website, which touts the Park City as a “great place” to live, “Bridgeport is a city on the way up. We've got a lot of work to do, but we're investing in the future, making our city a place where our kids and grandkids will choose to live, work and raise their families. We're improving the city by building schools, re-opening parks, making downtown more vibrant, and developing the waterfront.”  The website is separate and distinct from the official Bridgeport government website, which features a range of city services traditionally highlighted on municipal sites.

In Norwalk, Zunda Group is owned and managed by longtime Norwalk business leaders Charles Zunda and Gary Seve Esposito. In announcing the selection, the city stressed that the firm “has enjoyed a 35 year history of building and positioning strong, relevant brands.”  Zunda Group has proven success with Connecticut based brands like Newman’s Own, start-up brands like Chobani, and global brands such as Dove, city officials pointed out.  The local Norwalk community is invited to share their feedback about Norwalk by completing a voluntary public survey that is available from September 8 through September 22 at www.norwalkct.org/survey

https://youtu.be/-77lj-hO2Xc

New CT Consumer Confidence Survey Shows More Residents Likely to Stay, Although Outlook Relatively Unchanged

Fewer Connecticut residents now expect to move out of the state in the next five years, according to the results of the 2015 Connecticut Consumer Confidence Survey released today by InformCT, covering the second quarter of the calendar year. In the first quarter, the percentages were even, with 39 percent saying it was likely they’d move from the state during the next five years and the same percentage saying a move out of state was unlikely.  In the new survey, 32 percent said it is likely they will move out of state in the next five years, a slight drop, while the percentage who say it is unlikely has grown to 43 percent.

Overall, Connecticut residents’ confidence in the state’s economy and their personal financial prospects are nudging along tentatively and unevenly, but relatively unchanged in the year’s second quarter compared with the first few months of the year.

Results of the Q2 Survey (April-June 2015) tend to reinforce what was found in Q1 (January-March).  Consumers see little change in what is perceived as a sluggish economy and do not envision any change in the next 6 months. This is also reflected in their attitudes toward the job market, with 6 in 10 feeling that there are insufficient jobs for the available workforce.

Regarding personal finances, slightly fewer state residents felt they were better off today than six months ago, but slightly more felt they would be better off six months from now.  A plurality, however, felt that their personal finances were about the same as six months ago, and were unlikely to change in the next six months.

Inform CT is a public-private partnership that provides independent, non-partisan research, analysis, and public outreach to help create fact-based dialogue and action in Connecticut.  The survey is designed to generate an ongoing measure of consumer confidence in the Connecticut economy.  The survey also found that:

• Fairfield County residents are the most likely (32%) to think that business conditions are better.
• Residents of Litchfield (36%) and Windham (34%) counties are the most likely to feel that jobs are very hard to get.
• Residents of Tolland County (38%) are the most likely to feel that they are better off.

Concerns that survey respondents “job may be in jeopardy” dropped slightly from the first to second quarter, as did concerns “about being able to afford health insurance.”  However, slightly fewer people felt they had “enough to retire comfortably,” or that the state’s economy was improving.  On the question of whether Connecticut is a “good place to live and raise a family,” for the second consecutive quarter, the split was 50-50.  As income increases, respondents are more likely to agree that Connecticut is a good place to live and raise a family, the survey results showed.

The survey is being administered for InformCT by the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, Inc.(CERC) and Shelton-based Smith & Company. The analysis, which is based on the responses of 400 randomly selected Connecticut residents (roughly 50 per county), addresses key economic issues such as overall confidence, reactions to housing prices, upscale consumer purchases, leisure spending and current investments. InformCT is a public-private partnership that currently includes staff from CERC and the Connecticut Data Collaborative.

The results also indicated that women (78%) are significantly more likely than men (52%) to indicate that they are likely to move out of Connecticut, and respondents with household incomes of $50,000 or less are significantly more likely to indicate that they will move out of Connecticut, according to survey officials.

More than 60 percent of state residents said they plan to take a vacation outside Connecticut (22% very likely, 39% somewhat likely) and 44 percent said they planned to vacation in Connecticut (26% very likely, 18 percent somewhat likely).  The most likely vacation location appears to be state parks, with 43 percent indicating that such a visit was likely in the next six months.  Forty-one percent planned to visit a casino, outdistancing visits planned to aquariums (27%), the Connecticut Science Center (13%) and other state attractions.

Regarding plans for major purchases in the next six months, often considered a harbinger of economic strength, 28 percent said they planned to make a “major consumer expenditure,” 22 percent anticipated purchasing a new car, and 15 percent said they were planning to refinance or purchase a new home. 

CERC, based in Rocky Hill, is a nonprofit corporation and public-private partnership that provides economic development services consistent with state strategies, leveraging Connecticut’s unique advantages as a premier business location. Smith & Company LLC is a market research firm.  More information about the survey, and subscribing, can be found at www.informct.org.

“This research provides a measure of the strength of our economy as well as a gauge of select economic factors,” stated Alissa DeJonge, Vice President of Research at CERC.  “It is a valuable and cost-effective strategic planning tool for any company or organization that wishes to take the temperature of the Connecticut consumer.”

“Whether you are a financial services institution, health care provider, insurer, developer, utility, trade association, or advertiser, those who wish to subscribe to this regular information can add proprietary questions for their own purposes,” added Stephen A. Smith, President of Smith & Company.

Connecticut, Pakistan Have Similar Economic Output, Analysis Finds

Connecticut is Pakistan. A review of state-by-state Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for 2014 matches economic output in U.S. states to foreign countries with comparable nominal GDPs.  Connecticut’s GDP, which ranks 23^rd among the states, is comparable to the nation of Pakistan – just over $250 billion.

The U.S. map, with names of nations with comparable GDP’s, “helps put America’s GDP of nearly $18 trillion in 2014 into perspective by comparing the GDP of US states to other country’s entire national GDP,” according to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), which developed the comparative analysis.

Among the highlights, as described by AEI:

1. America’s largest state economy is California, which produced $2.31 trillion of economic output in 2014, just slightly below Brazil’s GDP in the same year of $2.35 trillion. In 2014, California as a separate country would have been the 8th largest economy in the world, ahead of Italy ($2.1 trillion) and India ($2.04 trillion) and Russia ($1.86 trillion). And California’s population is only 38.8 million compared to Brazil’s population of 200.4 million, which means California produces the same economic output as Brazil with 81% fewer people.
2. America’s second largest state economy – Texas – produced $1.65 trillion of economic output in 2014, placing it just slightly behind the world’s 11th largest country by GDP – Canada – with $1.78 trillion of economic output.
3. Saudi Arabia’s GDP in 2014 at $752 billion was just slightly more than the state GDP of Illinois ($746 billion).
4. America’s third largest state – New York with a GDP in 2013 of $1.4 trillion – produced the same amount of economic output last year as Spain ($1.4 trillion), even though Spain’s population of 47.3 million people is more than twice the number of people living in New York (19.75 million).
5. Other comparisons: Florida ($840 billion) produced about the same GDP in 2014 as the Netherlands ($866 billion), Pennsylvania ($663 billion) produces almost as much as the entire country of Switzerland ($712 billion) and Ohio ($583 billion) produces more than the entire country of Nigeria ($573 billion).

Connecticut’s GDP of $253 billion is close to that of Pakistan, which was $250 billion in 2014.  Among the other New England states, Massachusetts had a GNP of $459 billion, slightly higher than that of Iran ($404 billion), New Hampshire’s GDP of $71 billion was comparable to Syria’s nearly $72 billion, and Rhode Island’s $54 billion GDP was similar to Ethiopia’s $52 billion.

The comparison was developed by Mark J. Perry, concurrently a scholar at American Enterprise Institute and a professor of economics and finance at the University of Michigan's Flint campus. For each US state (and the District of Columbia), he determined the country closest in economic size in 2014 (measured by nominal GDP).  For each state, there was a country “with a pretty close match,” he found.

Overall, the analysis indicated, the US produced 22.5% of world GDP in 2014, with only about 4.6% of the world’s population. Three of America’s states (California, Texas and New York) – as separate countries – would rank in the world’s top 14 largest economies. And one of those states – California – produced more than $2 trillion in economic output in 2014 – and the other two (Texas and New York) produced more than $1.6 trillion and $1.4 trillion of GDP in 2014 respectively.

Start-Up Business Accelerator Program Selected to Receive Federal Funds to Expand Impact

The LaunchPad for Impact is an accelerator program for early-stage ventures that equips entrepreneurs with tools, resources, and guidance to test drive business assumptions and build a business model that delivers peak value and impact. The program, developed and operated in Hartford by reSET, the Social Enterprise Trust, has been selected to receive a cash prize of $50,000 from the U.S. Small Business Adminstration (SBA), one of only 80 organizations in the country to be designated to receive the funding. Selected in the SBA's Growth Accelerator Competition, LaunchPad for Impact  is the only Connecticut accelerator to receive an award this year.  President Obama made the announcement this week from the White House of awards totallying $4.4 million. The award includes a $50,000 cash prize to help fund the Hartford-based accelerator, and provides public recognition.  Overall, the recipients represent 39 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. 

The selected accelerators across the nation serve entrepreneurs in a broad set of industries and sectors – from manufacturing and tech start-ups, to farming and biotech – with many focused on creating a diverse and inclusive small business community.  "The entrepreneurial ecosystem in America is incredibly exciting and very powerful,” said Javier Saade, Associate Administrator for the U.S. Office of Investment and Innovation.  Elsewhere in New England, three Massachusetts programs were selected, as were two Maine initiatives, and one in both Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

Through customer feedback, expert guidance, and a peer network, Launchpad for Impact helps transform a start-up business or concept in to a scaleable model by helping entrepreneurs learn quicker, pivot where necessary, and move forward with a better chance of success. Through peer to peer feedback from other entrepreneurs, expert coaching, and an innovative online platform that captures validation and measures investment readiness,  participants “get the data, knowledge, and tools needed to pitch to clients, investors, and partners. In an environment where most start-up businesses fail, this program helps you get the validation and sound evidence you need to support your business model,” the program website indicates.

Thus far, the program has included 138 social entrepreneurs in Connecticut, helped launch or accelerate 54 impact ventures, and awarded over $75,000 in funding to early stage ventures in the past two years, according to the program website. Participants meet for nine scheduled, in person sessions and are offered supplemental workshops in multiple areas of business development.

In the SBA competition, applications were judged by more than 40 experts with entrepreneurial, investment, startup, economic development, capital formation and academic backgrounds from both the public and private sector.  The first panel of judges reviewed over 400 applications and presentations and established a pool of 180 highly qualified finalists.  The second panel evaluated the finalists’ presentations and pitch videos and selected the 80 winners.

“SBA is continuing to make advances in supporting unique organizations that help the start-up community grow, become commercially viable, and have a real and sustained economic impact,” said SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet. “Through the wide-spread outreach of this competition, we are able to reach entrepreneurial ecosystems across the country. My commitment is to make our resources available to 21st century entrepreneurs where they are, and these accelerators, also known as incubators and innovation hubs, are the gathering place for today’s innovators and disruptors.”

Housing, Education, Poverty Among Greater Hartford Region's Challenges, Report Reveals

Of the 4,000 affordable housing units added to the 38-town Greater Hartford region over the past five years, nearly half (47 percent) have been in Hartford and New Britain – almost as many as were added in all of the other 36 towns in the region combined. That stark statistic is among the points emphasized in the second edition of Metro Hartford Progress Points, an analysis of data compiled by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and a coalition of community and regional organizations.  The inaugural report was released last year, and the new edition updates some of that initial data, as well as revealing new information about the region’s demographics, opportunities and challenges.

Regarding the fact that much of the housing is being developed in municipalities that face considerable economic challenges, the report notes that those 36 towns have lost over 9,000 students in local schools during the past five years, despite having school districts that perform more than 30 points higher and standardized testing than those in Hartford and New Britain.  The report indicated, for example, that for every 100 children born in the region’s outer ring suburbs (such as Glastonbury), 113 enroll in local public school five years later, as opposed to 81 who enroll in city schools and inner ring suburbs (such as Bloomfield).

The second edition of Progress Points “takes a deeper look at key issues impacting our communities and how they are connected. The report asks how we can build on our strengths and fully utilize the assets that the region has to provide access to opportunity for all,” officials explained.  Using key indicators to identify opportunities for action, the 2015 report focuses on three regional priorities: 1) Access to better schools, 2) Access to better jobs, and 3) Access to stronger neighborhoods.

Looking at five year trends, the report found that the region’s population of about 1 million people has grown by 2 percent, which translates to about 20,000 people or about 4,000 families.  Regional job growth, 3.5 percent, is on par with the state, but remains about 8,000 jobs below pre-recession levels.  The crime rate across the Greater Hartford region has been reduced by about 18 percent during the past five years, faster than the state (-16%) and national (11%) trends.

The study determined that there are more people living in poverty in the region than 10 years ago.  “Suburban communities have seen a major increase in the population living in low-to-mid-poverty neighborhoods,” the report said.   “Poverty is a regional, not an urban, problem.  Addressing poverty requires improved coordination among towns to better connect transportation and other services to increase access to opportunity.”

In education, the report also notes that about 4 percent more third-graders are reading at or above grade-level goals, a faster improvement than statewide (1.3 percent).  There has been no change in the percentage of kindergartners in the region starting school with pre-K experience.  That level, 78 percent, is the same in the region as statewide.  Focusing on declining enrollment, officials indicated that some of the region’s highest-performing school districts are seeing the greatest decrease in enrollment as a result of declining birth rates: Simsbury at 13 percent, Tolland at 16 percent, Granby at 14 percent. Avon and Glastonbury both are experiencing a decline of 8 percent.

Metro Hartford Progress Points was introduced “in order to identify and better understand the critical education, income and opportunity gaps that exist in our region. This year, we’re continuing the discussion, looking for ways to improve access to better schools, better jobs and stronger neighborhoods for everyone in the region,” officials indicated.  “Access to better jobs builds stronger neighborhoods. Stronger neighborhoods help to connect families to better schools. And better education ensures that workers are ready to take on those jobs — increasing prosperity, growth and quality of life for all.”

Regarding preparation for college, the report indicates that “almost 50 percent of all students entering community college or Connecticut state universities require remedial coursework and training, even those from high-performing districts.”  The report notes “this means paying for additional courses, which only increases student debt.” The report indicates that 70 percent of jobs in Connecticut are projected to require a post-secondary education by 2025.  To reach that level, it is estimated that an additional 4,500 people will need to earn degrees statewide per year.  Currently, 67 percent of the population in Greater Hartford has a post-secondary degree.

Partner organizations in developing the report include the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Capital Workforce Partners, Capital region Council of Governments, Metro Hartford Alliance, Hispanic Health Council, United Way of Central and Northern Connecticut, Urban League of Greater Hartford, Center for Urban and Global Studies at Trinity College, and the City of Hartford.

Impacting Public Policy, Local Fellowships Bring Young Professionals to Center of Government

The ZOOM Foundation Public Policy Fellowship is designed to develop a sustainable public service leadership pipeline in Connecticut by providing action learning opportunities and leadership development training that empowers emerging leaders to contribute meaningfully to Connecticut's public policy. For Waterford native Katie Magboo, a 2005 Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Connecticut who taught elementary school in New York City and Westport for nine years, it was the perfect opportunity at precisely the right time.

“I enjoy policy development work, and I’m very invested in this state,” said Magboo, who concluded her year-long fellowship this month.  Of her work with the state Board of Regents for Higher Education, “bridging the gaps” in the connections between K-12 education, college curriculum and workforce needs, she says “I’ve been privileged to have had the opportunity.” Recalling her work with the state’s Early College Steering Committee, she proudly recites the initiatives that she played a role in developing that have already begun to take root in the state – with more in the pipeline.

Established in Connecticut in 2001, ZOOM Foundation has sought to partner with “exceptional leaders who use a practical, entrepreneurial approach to innovation and change.” The Foundation is concerned with opportunities for impact at both a national scale as well as in Fairfield County. Primary areas of interest are education and the environment.

For the past year, five Fellows worked in the upper ranks of state and local government.  Meg Hourigan in the Office of Governor Dannel Malloy, Karla Lindquist in the Department of Economic and Community Development, Jenna Lupi in the Mayor’s Office in Milford, Katie Magboo with the State Board of Regents for Higher Education and Katie Stenclik in the New Haven Mayor’s Office.  Lupi, Lindquist and Magboo are Connecticut natives.  ZOOM Foundation awarded two fellowships in 2012 and six in 2013.

The Fellowship supports “select emerging leaders to increase their impact through the opportunity to work on high-level policy projects in Connecticut and participation in an intensive professional development and network building program,” the organization’s website points out.

The selection criteria include: intellectual curiosity coupled with a learning stance, entrepreneurial spirit, resourcefulness, emotional intelligence and commitment to public service.  Eligibility requirements include a bachelor’s degree, at least two years of post-grad work experience, relevant leadership experience, and a desire to continue on a path of leadership.

The Fellows “work on a variety of high-level policy projects to develop the insights and strengthen the skills necessary to lead change for the public good,” bringing “a sense of urgency, an action orientation, and a dogged optimism that meaningful social change can be achieved.” The government agencies or municipalities where the Fellows are placed choose the specific assignment and area of focus for their work.

Among the programs that Magboo helped to develop is one now underway in Norwalk.  Norwalk Early College Academy is based on the Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) model, which combines the best of high school, college and the professional world.

NECA is a high school plus two years, grades 9 to 14. Within this six-year timeframe, students earn not only a high school diploma, but also an Associate in Applied Science degree, from Norwalk Community College. Graduates will have the skills and experience to step into well-paying jobs in the Information Technology (IT) industry, the program’s website explains.

Similar initiatives are being developed in western Connecticut and eastern Connecticut, connecting local high schools, community colleges and local employers.  In the Danbury area, a relatively recent business in the region is serving as a partner in the initiative, to begin next year.  In eastern Connecticut, major employer Electric Boat, a division of General Dynamics, is set to be the workforce partner when that initiative gets underway.

The Foundation notes that “Connecticut has the greatest educational achievement gap in the country and the Foundation has invested in organizations and programs that will cause significant, lasting change and which generate momentum to close the gap.”

Magboo said the fellowship provided an opportunity to “make an impact at more of a macro level, and be a part of positive change.”  Her efforts included research, on the ground application, and program development, working alongside individuals from academic and industry.  “It has been an incredible opportunity.”

Applications from across the nation for the Connecticut-based ZOOM Public Policy Fellowship for 2015-16 were submitted in February, with the newly selected Fellows to begin their work later this summer. ZOOM Fellows receive a salary from the Foundation, as well as medical and other benefits, and most spend a full year working within a government organization or agency.  Based in Fairfield, the independent family foundation is led by Stephen and Susan Mandel.

First-Time Home Purchases Poised for Increase Nationwide; Buyers Market in Connecticut

Nearly one-in-five potential first-time home buyers nationwide are actively looking to buy and nearly two-thirds would like to provide a sizable down payment of 20 percent or more. Nearly two-thirds, 62 percent, of potential first-time home buyers think they will purchase a home within the next two years. Among millennial survey respondents, this number is slightly higher, rising to 67 percent. New research from TD Bank, with 75 locations in Connecticut, indicates that “consumers are gaining confidence in the economy and many are looking to enter the housing market within the next two years,” explained Scott Haymore, Head of Pricing and Secondary Markets, TD Bank.  The bank polled more than 1,000 Americans looking to purchase their first home within the next five years, producing the TD Bank First-Time Home Buyer Pulse report. 

Connecticut, with the strongest inventory of homes on the market in the New England region, is especially attractive to first-time home buyers, points out Maryruth Ryan, TD Bank's Regional Mortgage Sales Manager for Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and southern New Hampshire.  “Rates are at historical lows, mortgage programs are good.  It’s a good time to buy in Connecticut,” Ryan said.

The Connecticut Association of Realtors reported earlier this month that single-family house sales across Connecticut rose nearly 14 percent in June, compared with June 2014, with the median sale price dropping just under one percent.  There were 3,756 homes sold in Connecticut last month, 459 more than during the same month a year ago.

Ryan said that as the millennial generation looks to first-home purchases, they “have done their research, they are more prepared, they know what they need to do to qualify for a mortgage for their first home.”

When asked what is preventing them from purchasing their first home, respondents most often cited needing to save money for a down payment (64 percent) and needing to pay down debt (45 percent).  For millennials, the entry to homeownership is even tougher: 70 percent of millennial respondents said they need to save for a down payment and 52 percent said they need to pay down debt. Millennials are more likely to purchase their first home with a partner or spouse (70 percent) compared to potential first-time home buyers of other generations 49 percent.

"Many first-time buyers today are finding it difficult to save for a large down payment, especially young adults who are saddled with substantial student loan debt," said Haymore. “Many lenders today are offering home affordability and down payment assistance programs so it's important for these buyers and potential buyers to shop around for a mortgage and learn more about the options available to them."

The survey noted that more than two-thirds of consumers (68 percent) looking to purchase their first home are interested in move-in ready homes while one-third would like to buy a fixer-upper. And when it comes to amenities, respondents are most interested in their first home having a backyard or pool and an attractive design, followed by energy efficient / smart homes technologies.

The top four financing options first-time buyers consider include cash savings, 30-year mortgage, and an affordability program and government loan.  Ryan points out that financial institutions such as TD Bank provide consumer education about the mortgage process, discussing aspects including budgeting and affordability with prospective home buyers. "The right lender will help first-time buyers understand what they can afford and share information on the different loan options available,” Haymore added.

Some Connecticut home purchases are now including a contingency clause, Ryan indicated, something that isn’t happening at the same frequency elsewhere.  The so-called “Hubbard Clause” is a contingency in a purchase agreement that expressly conditions the buyer's offer upon their ability to sell and close on another home or property, most often their current residence.

Because of the strong inventory currently in Connecticut, rather than more than one buyer lining up to purchase a house and an ensuing bidding war, as is happening in other parts of New England and around the country, first-time home buyers here tend to be able to select the home they’d prefer, and often are the only bidder seeking to make the purchase.  The Greater Hartford Board of Realtors reported that home sales rose for the fifth consecutive month in June in the 75-town region, and that sales increased and prices dropped during the first six months of 2015, compared with a year ago.

The TD Bank First-Time Home Buyer Pulse isavailable at http://mediaroom.tdbank.com/homebuyer.  The survey was conducted by Vision Critical, June 11-16.

Six Connecticut Businesses Earn Honors from U.S. Commerce Department for Export Efforts

Four Connecticut companies - Dymotek of Ellington, Jonal Laboratories, Inc. of Meriden, Mutualink of Wallingford and Proton OnSite of Wallingford – were among 26 companies nationwide to receive the President’s “E” Award for Exports, as determined by the U.S. Department of Commerce.  In addition, Stamford-based Finacity Corporation and Hartford-based law firm Shipman and Goodwin were among 12 firms in the U.S. to earn an “E” award for Export Service.  U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker honored a total of 45 American companies and organizations, many of which are small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), at the 2015 President’s “E” Awards ceremony, held earlier this year.  The six Connecticut businesses were among the 45 honored.

Among the 45 businesses, Arizona joined Connecticut with the most businesses earning the “E” designation, with four.  Texas had three; Tennessee, Illinois and North Carolina each had two.  This year’s honorees represent 20 states, with 35 SMEs and 21 manufacturers receiving awards.

The “awardees have made substantial contributions to increasing U.S. exports, which are critical to spurring economic growth and job creation,” said Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. “Exports continue to be a driver of our economy, supporting more than 11.7 million jobs in cities and communities across the country. Furthermore, these exporters are examples of the historic progress in our export growth. In 2014, U.S. exports hit an all-time high of $2.34 trillion, accounting for 13.4 percent of GDP. By exporting more Made-in-America goods and services, U.S. businesses are growing faster, hiring more workers, and paying better wages.”

Proton Onsite makes hydrogen and nitrogen generators.  Mutualink manufactures equipment used to facilitate collaborative communication between public safety and first response teams at the scene of emergencies.  Jonal Laboratories makes sealant used in the aerospace industry.  Dymotek manufactures custom injection molded plastic and silicone parts for electronics, plumbing valves and juice dispensers. 

Finacity is a world-class expert in accounts receivable securitizations, specializing in structuring, administration and reporting.

Twelve companies that assist and facilitate export activities were honored with the “E” Award for Export Service. Four firms received the “E” Star Award for Exports, which recognizes previous “E” Award winners who have reported four years of additional export growth. And, three companies were awarded the “E” Star Award for Export Service, which recognizes previous “E” Award winners that have shown four years of continued support of exporters since first winning the “E” Award.

This year marks the 53rd anniversary of the “E” Awards presentation, which recognizes companies and organizations that make a significant contribution to the expansion of U.S. exports.  In 1961, President Kennedy signed an executive order reviving the World War II “E” symbol of excellence to honor and provide recognition to America's exporters. The President’s “E” Award is the highest recognition any U.S. entity can receive for making a significant contribution to the expansion of U.S. exports.

“Only a small percentage of America’s 30 million companies export, and of U.S. companies that do export, 59 percent export to only one country. Increasing this number can have a big impact on the U.S. economy,” Pritzker added.

English Language Learners May Hold Key to Economic Vibrancy of Region, State

One-third of Hartford’s population is Puerto Rican, making it the 4^th highest percentage of Puerto Rican people in the continental United States.  But the rapidly increasing diversity of the state’s Capitol City, and the region that surrounds it, only begins there – as do the linguistic and workforce challenges. A new report produced by The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Latino Endowment Fund focuses on the issues faced by English Language Learners and highlights the opportunities and the challenges of increased cultural and linguistic diversity.

Approximately one-eighth of the Greater Hartford region’s population consists of foreign-born residents, including 4,800 people who have arrived in the state since 2005.  A total of 500,000 foreign-born residents are now living in Connecticut, including 40 percent who hail from Latin American countries.

During the past 25 years, population growth in the Hartford region has been “almost entirely” driven by foreign-born people taking up residence locally, according to the report. In the Hartford region, more than 1 in 5 people speak a language other than English at home.  About three-quarters of Connecticut English Language Learner (ELL) students speak Spanish.

The report found that the region’s “schools and communities are more diverse than ever, with more than 100 different languages spoken in homes throughout Greater Hartford.”  The report raises the question, “How can we harness the assets of a multilingual population to enhance our community and create stronger links to the global marketplace?”

The report notes that “researchers believe that, on average, it takes 2 years to master conversational English, yet 5-7 years to master academic English.”  The report indicated that when analyzing education and workforce data, English Language Learners are far behind their English speaking peers in terms of educational attainment and income.Highlighting one of the challenges for ELL students, the reported found that over the last 4 years, two of the top three teacher shortages in Connecticut have been bilingual and world languages educators.  About 20% of all adult ELLs experienced poverty in the last year, about twice the rate in the state as a whole. In Connecticut, the earned income of ELL adults is $25,000 per year—less than half of English-speakers’ earnings.

“The Latino Endowment Fund has offered this report as a means to expand the important discussion on efforts to support English Language Learners in our communities,” said Luis Cabán, chair emeritus of the Latino Endowment Fund Steering Committee. “This document provides us with an opportunity to reframe how we think about our increasingly global community and recognize the advantages of people speaking more than one language to enhance the richness of our community and create stronger links to the global marketplace.”

The number of Hispanic entrepreneurs in the United States has more than tripled since 1990 from 577,000 in 1990 to 2,000,000 in 2012, according to the report. Immigrant-owned businesses employ 10% of all American workers and generate 16% of the overall US business income.  Connecticut is home to 14,000 Latino-owned small businesses, which represents a 50 percent growth rate since 2007.

In Connecticut as of 2013, there were over 191,000 working-age adults with limited English proficiency.  This population has grown 32 percent since 20000 and now represents 10 percent of the total working-age population.  Over 58 percent of these are Spanish-speaking, the report indicated. 

Some of the potential solutions highlighted in the report are:

• Eliminating the state requirement that a district must have a minimum of 20 students requiring ELL support before receiving state funding. All districts that teach students who need ELL support should be eligible for state assistance.
• Expanding dual-language immersion programs to build a more supportive multilingual environment that can cater to both urban and suburban families.
• Developing an ESL/adult education curriculum for parents that focus on interactions with their children’s schools and teachers.
• Providing additional support to create a smooth transition from adult education ESL classes to college-level ESL classes through the development of a coordinated curriculum.

“While we appreciate the recent actions by the legislature to support ELL students and their families, this report shows that much work needs to be done to assist the thousands of Connecticut children and adults who are not proficient in English,” said Nelly Rojas Schwan, chair of the Latino Endowment Fund and an assistant professor of social work and Latino community practice at the University of Saint Joseph. “The future of our state’s economy will largely be determined by how well we educate and train our English Language Learners and we hope this report will serve as a tool to aid in this discussion.”

Download a copy of the report.

Rich Towns in CT Have 8 Times the Resources of Poor Towns to Pay for Municipal Services, Study Finds

The most resource-rich towns in Connecticut had, on average, a per capita revenue capacity that was more than eight times the average of the most resource-poor communities’ capacity.  That conclusion, highlighted in a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, which pointed to “large non-school fiscal disparities across cities and towns in Connecticut.” “These disparities are driven primarily by differences in revenue-raising capacity,” the report, “Measuring Municipal Fiscal Disparities in Connecticut,” concluded. “Because municipalities in Connecticut rely almost exclusively on property taxes for own-source revenue, this is directly tied to the uneven distribution of the property tax base.”

The study, issued in May, “found that municipal costs are driven by five key factors outside the control of local officials: the unemployment rate, population density, private-sector wages, miles of locally maintained roads, and the number of jobs located within a community relative to its resident population.”  Fiscal disparities exist when some municipalities face higher costs for providing a given level of public services or fewer taxable resources to finance those services than others, according the report synopsis.

The study explains that “in Connecticut, municipalities provide a range of services including education, public safety, public works, human services, and general government.  While educational fiscal disparities—and the effectiveness of the state’s Education Cost  Sharing (ECS) grant in addressing them—have received considerable attention in Connecticut, less is known about how municipalities’ underlying characteristics affect their ability to provide other vital public services and the degree to which state policies ameliorate differences.”

The highest-cost group of communities had average per capita municipal costs that were 1.3 times the average per capita costs of the lowest-cost group of cities and towns, the study found, noting that “variation in measured capacity stems from differences in resources, not choices about tax rates. In Connecticut, real and personal property taxes are virtually the only source of revenue that cities and towns are authorized to levy.”

Breaking down the state’s geography, the report indicated that “the highest capacity areas (darkest shades on the map) are located in the southwestern and northwestern corners of the state, and along the shoreline. Connecticut’s lowest-capacity municipalities (the lightest shades on the map) are mostly scattered through the central and eastern portions of the state. In general, communities in northeastern Connecticut also tend to have fairly low per capita revenue capacity.”

The municipal gap data highlighted in the report is described as “the difference between the uncontrollable costs associated with providing public services and the economic resources available to a municipality to pay for those services.”  To calculate the per capita “gap” for each community, the study subtracted per capita revenue capacity from per capita cost for each municipality:

• Thus, a “positive gap” indicates a municipality that lacks sufficient revenue-raising capacity to provide a given common level of municipal services, with larger gaps indicating a worse fiscal condition.
• By contrast, a negative gap represents a municipality that has more than enough revenue-raising capacity to provide this common level of municipal services.

The study found “a wide range of municipal gaps among Connecticut’s 169 communities, indicating significant fiscal disparities across the state.” Although cost differences play a role, “these gaps are largely driven by the uneven distribution of revenue capacity across the state. This, in turn, is the direct result of the uneven distribution of the property tax base.”

• The report indicated that “a total of 78 Connecticut municipalities had a positive fiscal gap, meaning there was insufficient revenue raising capacity, representing 46 percent of the state’s communities (and close to 60 percent of the state’s population).
• The state’s remaining 91 communities had a negative fiscal gap (more than sufficient revenue-raising capacity) in the year studied, FY2011.

The state’s cities, with the notable exception of Stamford, tend to have the largest positive gaps, or insufficient capacity to raise funds to provide adequate municipal services. Most communities in northeastern Connecticut also have positive gaps. The largest negative gaps, the report found, —representing communities with high revenue-raising capacity—are generally located in lower Fairfield County, the northwestern corner of the state, and certain communities along the shore in eastern Connecticut.

The report was coordinated for the New England Public Policy Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston by Bo Zhao and Jennifer Weiner and a team of researchers.  Bo Zhao is a Senior Economist in the New England Public Policy Center, specializing in public finance and urban and regional economics.   Jennifer Weiner is a Senior Policy Analyst with the New England Public Policy Center. Her work focuses on state and local public finance and has included research on state business tax credits, unemployment insurance financing, state debt affordability, transportation funding, and the fiscal systems of the New England states.