State's Residential Solar Investment Program Off to Fast Start

The Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA) has announced that one month in to a new Residential Solar Investment Program (Program) it has already approved 126 applications for installations of photovoltaic rooftop systems.  Bryan Garcia, President of CEFIA said, “The initial response to our new program has been dramatic, demonstrating strong public interest in solar power and the dynamic nature of our state’s solar industry.  We will be providing approximately $1.4 million in funding for these first 126 installations leveraging $2.8 million of additional private capital, which will produce more than 800 kW of new residential solar capacity.” Garcia noted that more than one-third of the 70 approved installation companies in CEFIA’s program have been involved in submitting the initial applications for the solar installations.  

Regionalism, State-Local Collaboration Key to Fiscal Future

The Connecticut Institute for the 21^st Century, in a report issued this month and highlighted at a CCSU conference this week, has found that Connecticut’s local expenditures now total $12 billion annually, and have risen 262% faster than the median income in Connecticut over the past 6 years. The organizations reports that:

• Local expenditures increased 11.6% to $12 billion
• Combined state and local expenditures increased 15.1% to $34.7 billion
• Median personal income increased 3.2%

The report, “Framework for Connecticut’s Fiscal Future,” called for stronger action across municipalities in procurement reform, shared services, establishment of a uniform chart of accounts, and greater regional coordination in planning and development.  The document stressed that “home-rule” does not rule out cooperation.

Among the conclusions:  “Connecticut has too many state, local and education structures. They overlap, they are not aligned, they compete for funds.”  Beyond that, “the proliferation of local governments and the fragmentation of the state into tiny jurisdictions creates a staggering array of cots and a race to the bottom competition among municipalities for desirable commercial, industrial and residential taxes.”

The good news?  Connecticut has the resources to enable change, can redefine regional structures, break down state agency silos and achieve procurement reform.  And those are among the recommendations.

State Treasury's Big List Helps Return $2.6 Million

The Office of State Treasurer Denise Nappier reports that $2.6 million has been returned to 2,611 rightful owners of the assets since last November, when the Treasury published the CT Big List – a compilation of individuals eligible to claim assets turned over to the state by financial institutions unable to locate rightful owners. The state holds the assets until rightful owners are located and verified, and publishes a list – in print and online – to help match money with owners.  The claims include dormant balances in savings and checking accounts, unredeemed stocks and bonds, unreturned security deposits and uncashed checks, such as wages or commissions.

A majority of the claims paid were under $1,000; the largest was for $76,948.  The State Treasury has received 348,910 hits on CTBigList.com since November.  Nearly 50,000 names were included on the list published last fall.  State law requires the list to be published every other year.