Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • June 1, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com BY THE NUMBERS 1.92M The size of Connecticut's labor force in April — an all-time high. 300 The number of new student beds Quinnipiac University has proposed adding to its York Hill campus. $237,900 The median sales price of single- family homes sold across the state in April, down from $249,700 a year prior, according to the Connecticut Realtors. $164.9M The latest fiscal year 2015 deficit estimate from the Office of Policy Management, up $3.2 million from its month-ago forecast. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ Hartford ranks 11th among nation's fittest cities ■ House passes property tax bill ■ CT OKs Hartford reinsurance captive ■ Prudential: Pension buyouts gaining momentum ■ CNG, Southern fined $81K for repair methods STAY CONNECTED For breaking and daily Greater Hartford business news go to www.HartfordBusiness.com. HBJ on Twitter: @HartfordBiz HBJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HartfordBiz HBJ on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ the-Hartford-Business-Journal Daily e-newsletters: HBJ Today, CT Morning Blend www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe Weekly e-newsletters: CT Green Guide Weekly www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe TOP STORY Hartford keeps mill rate flat in $534M budget Hartford city councilors last week approved a $533.8 million budget that keeps the city's property-tax rate flat at 74.29 mills. Mayor Pedro Segarra and the council closed a nearly $40 million budget gap for the fiscal year that begins July 1 by restructuring debt and reducing department expenses by more than $10 million. The spending plan also includes $13 million from a Hartford Public Schools account for retired employees' health insurance benefits. The budget allocated $9 million for police body and vehicle cameras and other equipment, $250,000 for the North Hartford Promise Zone, and $90,000 for a youth athletics program. HEALTH CARE Wadleigh: Access Health close to announcing business ventures The state's health insurance exchange, Access Health CT, is preparing to announce new business ventures that will allow it to raise new revenue as federal funding for the online marketplace begins to dry up, CEO Jim Wadleigh said last week. "We are very close to announcing some partnerships," Wadleigh said during Access Health's board of directors meeting. Deals could entail Access Health providing consulting services to other state exchanges. While Wadleigh wouldn't reveal which states his team has been speaking to, media reports have said Vermont is among them. The exchange brought in $200,000 for providing training and operational support to Maryland's exchange.Access Health is pursuing new revenue streams to safeguard its long-term financial health. As of Jan. 1, the federal government essentially shut off its money spigot to state- based exchanges, meaning exchanges have to become self-sustainable. Access Health CT received about $150 million in federal funding since its inception and still has about $20 million left to spend. After that, however, the exchange is on its own. Hartford ranks 11th among nation's fittest cities The Greater Hartford metropolitan area is the 11th fittest city in the nation this year, an improvement of one spot since 2014, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. The Hartford-East Hartford-West Hartford metropolitan area came in just ahead of Salt Lake City, Utah, and just behind San Jose, Calif., in ACSM's Ameri- can Fitness Index of the nation's largest 50 metropolitan areas. The top 10 in order were Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacra- mento, Denver, Portland, Ore., Boston, and San Jose. The index scored Hartford a 64.8 out of 100, with areas of excellence in- cluding low death rates for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, high percent- ages of parkland and recreational amenities like ball fields and golf courses, and the state requirement for physical education in school. Some of Hartford's weaknesses include a 28 percent obesity rate, high percentages of people with asthma, low use of public transportation, and low parks-related expenditures per capita. INSURANCE CT OKs Hartford reinsurance captive Connecticut insurance regulators have approved another captive insurer to do business here. State Insurance Commissioner Katharine L. Wade said SOBC Corp., of New Jersey, is setting up its Hartford captive to help reinsurers that are exiting the market pay off their claims. SOBC Insurance Co. Ltd. is Connecticut's 8th approved captive since law- makers allowed them back in 2011, authorities said. ECONOMY & LABOR CT unemployment ticked down in April The state's unemployment rate declined to 6.3 percent in April, as the state added a seasonally adjusted 1,200 jobs, according to the state Department of Labor. The jobless rate is down from 6.4 percent in March and 6.8 percent a year ago. Initial figures on March job gains were revised downward, from 4,000 to 3,300, DOL said. The government sector added 1,500 jobs in April, while the private sector shed 300 jobs. Manufacturing, construction and mining, and education and health services all gained jobs, while professional and business services and leisure and hospitality shed jobs. The state's labor force also expanded to an all-time high of 1.92 million work- ers, DOL said. The state has gained 23,200 jobs over the past year, while the unemployment rate has fallen half of a percentage point. CT sees more sole proprietorships The number of Connecticut businesses with no paid employees ticked up slightly in 2013, the U.S. Census Bureau revealed last week. There were 263,511 sole proprietorships or "nonemployer" businesses in 2013, up from 261,922 a year earlier. Despite the small increase, total receipts at those companies declined, from $15.36 billion to $15.24 billion, the agency said. The industries with the greatest number of one-man businesses in Connecti- cut included real estate and construction. In 2010, there were 255,793 nonemployer businesses, which took in $14.24 billion. ENERGY & UTILITIES N. England electricity consumption dropped in 2014 Total use of electricity in New England last year dropped 2 percent from 2013, although the average price for power increased, according to electric grid ad- ministrator ISO New England. The drop in total consumption was driven partially by the milder weather for the entire year in 2014 and also by efforts to increase energy conservation through efficiency measures and other methods. Despite the decrease, the average real-time price for wholesale electricity rose 13 percent to $63.32 per megawatt hour. The increase was driven by higher power plant fuel costs, particularly natural gas, ISO said in its 2014 Annual Markets Report. The total value for the electricity market — including electric energy, capac- ity, and ancillary services markets — was $9.9 billion in 2014, an increase of 12 percent from the previous year. In 2010, there were 255,793 nonemployer businesses, which took in $14.24 billion. ACCOUNTING Longobardi named new CEO at CohnReznick Accounting, tax and advisory firm CohnReznick, which has offices in Hartford, New London and Stamford, said it has promoted longtime Connecticut executive Frank P. Longobardi to CEO. Longobardi will take over for co-CEOs Ken Baggett and Tom Marino when they step down in October. They will remain members of the firm's executive board. Longobardi, regional managing partner for New England, is also on the executive board. CohnReznick has more than 2,700 employees and 300 partners across 29 offices. Longobardi will relocate to New York, where the firm is headquartered. He has a bachelor's degree from UConn and is a board member of the UConn Foundation and the St. Francis Hospital Foundation. WEEK IN REVIEW P H O T O | S T E V E L A S C H E V E R

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