4 Hartford Business Journal • April 20, 2020 • www.HartfordBusiness.com
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"I think [Gov. Ned Lamont's] administration is
drinking from the firehose like everyone else and
their No. 1 priority is health and safety," DeLong
said, noting that Lamont's Chief of Staff Paul
Mounds assured him state officials will meet
with municipal leaders about aid. "This conver-
sation [about municipal aid] has to take place,
but at the same time I'm not being critical."
The COVID-19 pandemic
hasn't interfered with
some of Wallingford's larg-
est capital projects like
construction of a $72-mil-
lion proton beam cancer
treatment facility in which
Yale New Haven Health
and Hartford HealthCare
are co-investing, said Wall-
ingford Economic Devel-
opment Specialist Tim Ryan.
Like town governments, businesses are also
struggling to figure out what aid they qualify
for, and what loans or grants they should ap-
ply for, Ryan said.
"It's been a scatter," Ryan said. "The CARES
Act was signed into law … and now everyone's
like, 'OK, how's this going to work?' "
When it comes to the pandemic's pos-
sible long-term effects on the local economy,
Wallingford has a few things to worry about,
Dickinson said.
Wallingford's main source of revenue is
property taxes. But an economic downturn
could result in lower property values, meaning
less tax revenue for services, Dickinson said.
"[Lower property tax revenue is] endemic of
lower economic activity … and unfortunately
those are the times when there's more need
for services," he said. "It's a terrible conflict
that does not have easy solutions."
Since all of Connecticut's 169 cities and
towns rely on property tax dollars as a main
source of income, CCM's priority is keeping
businesses and landlords from defaulting on
leases and mortgages, DeLong said.
That's why CCM is pushing for relief for
commercial landlords, DeLong said.
"We wanted to create an opportunity where the
landlords wouldn't have to pay property taxes for
a while in exchange for not
collecting rent from [strug-
gling] tenants," DeLong said,
adding that it's critical for
towns that as many busi-
nesses as possible remain
viable. "We want to make
sure that those tenants are
able to stay in business and
get through this."
CCM also wrote a letter
to Connecticut's Congres-
sional delegation calling
for a broadening of federal
stimulus so that municipalities with fewer than
500,000 residents can receive direct funding.
"The CARES Act provided federal funds to
assist only cities with populations over 500,000,"
DeLong wrote. "Therefore, Connecticut mu-
nicipalities received no direct funding as they
struggle to protect and serve residents during a
deadly pandemic."
While stimulus funding is in a holding pattern
for Wallingford, Dickinson said he is optimistic
that local, state and federal officials will success-
fully work together on aid distribution, and that
Wallingford will weather the economic storm.
"We need to have a glimmer of light at the end
of this tunnel that this pandemic is coming to an
end," Dickinson said. "I think that will help a lot of
people think ahead and plan for the future."
>> Town Profile continued
Wallingford
General
Land area (sq. miles) 39
Median age 47
Population 44,964
Median household income $77,128
Unemployment rate 3.7%
Major Employers
Town of Wallingford
Masonicare
Community Health Network of CT
Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield
Gaylord Hospital
Housing stock
Median price $266,100
Median rent $1,081
Government
Total revenue (2017) $172,273,000
Per capita tax $2,639
Actual mill rate 29.19
Grand List $4,463,567,785
Economy
Top employment
industries Units Jobs
Health care and social assistance 143 4,590
Manufacturing 106 3,300
Retail trade 154 2,842
Top taxpayers (2018)
5 Research Parkway
Wallingford LLC $32,200,000
Leigus TEI Equities LLC $30,245,300
Connecticut Light and Power $28,318,330
Source: Connecticut Economic Resource Center
William Dickinson,
Mayor, Wallingford
Joe DeLong,
Executive Director,
Connecticut
Conference of
Municipalities
