Fairfield County Business Journal 012218

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SMALL BUSINESS FINANCE

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JANUARY 22 2018 | VOL. 54, No. 4

YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS

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westfaironline.com

Economic outlook positive for U.S., not so much for state ECONOMISTS AND POLITICAL LEADERS WEIGH IN AT NORWALK EVENT BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN kzimmerman@westfairinc.com

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sense of general optimism permeated the recent Economic Outlook and State Budget Review at Norwalk’s DoubleTree Hotel, although there were still plenty of political fireworks between state legislative leaders from both sides of the aisle. The event, presented by the Norwalk Chamber of Commerce, found Connecticut Business & Industry Association Vice President and Economist Pete Gioia opening the session with “I have some good news” — something that state Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff later remarked was Gioia’s “version of The Happy Dance.” Indeed, Gioia said that he believed, in the wake of the recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, that the nation as a whole is “probably on the cusp of what might be one of its best years in the last 50 years” in terms of economic growth. » OUTLOOK

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Real Estate’s Future page 3

Newmark Knight Frank executive Geoffrey Kasselman presents a vision of future trends and technology affecting real estate at a Real Estate Finance Association of Connecticut luncheon in Stamford. Photo by Phil Hall.

Up for debate again: Tolls on Connecticut roads

BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN kzimmerman@westfairinc.com

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he bell will ring again for bringing tolls back to Connecticut’s highway system, state legislators agree. Where they disagree is whether such a move makes sense. Either way, Democrats and Republicans are in accord about it being a tough fight. State Rep. Tony Guerrera, longtime Democratic co-chair of the state Transportation Committee, told the Business Journal he will “absolutely” introduce a bill to revisit tolls during the new legislative session scheduled to begin Feb. 7. Such a measure failed to be voted upon in each of the past two sessions, but Guerrera — who represents Newington, Rocky Hill and Wethersfield -- said the time

has come to bite the bullet. “We’re dealing with a big infrastructure problem let’s not kid ourselves,” he said. “A lot of our infrastructure was built in the ‘60s, and we have to fix it, there are no ifs, ands or buts about it.” As evidenced by Gov. Dannel Malloy’s recent announcement that he was indefinitely postponing $4.3 billion in transportation projects until new revenue is appropriated for the state’s Special Transportation Fund, “We just don’t have the revenues going forward,” Guerrera said. According to the Malloy administration, if no action is taken, the fund will be in deficit by 2019, and the deficit could reach $388.1 million by 2021-22. A new toll system would be electronic, like the E-ZPass systems used in neighboring Massachusetts and New York. Precisely where each toll gate

would be placed and pricing has yet to be determined. Locations suggested last year included on Interstate 84 from Hartford to New York and at the interchange of I-91, I-691 and Route 15 in Meriden. Tolls probably won’t be going along state borders. In 1983, Connecticut entered an agreement with the federal government by which it receives $3 for every dollar it spends on its highways, provided that no tolls are instituted at the state’s borders. Senate Republican President Pro Tempore Len Fasano told the Business Journal that if the state does build borderline tolls, it would be required to pay back “every dollar we’ve received since 1984” to the federal government. Toll proponents like Guerrera claim the system could bring the state as much as $600 million per year in revenue. If a solution » TOLLS

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