Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • August 1, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com TOP STORY DOT raising fares, cutting construction to balance budget To offset a $37 million budget reduction, the state Department of Transporta- tion has announced fare hikes and reductions to planned rail and bridge im- provements. Road and bridge program reductions total $19 million and public trans- portation program reductions total $18 million. The highway and bridge reductions include decreasing maintenance work related to items such as tree cutting, joint and crack sealing and drainage work. Additional plan savings include delays in hiring personnel and antici- pated fuel savings. Effective Dec. 1, DOT is also planning to increase fares by 5 percent on the New Haven commuter rail line, including the New Canaan, Danbury and Wa- terbury branches, and Shore Line East, which the agency said would gener- ate about $5.9 million in new revenue. On the New Haven Line, the increase would be combined with a 1 percent previously scheduled fare increase. HEALTH CARE CT gets failing grade for healthcare price transparency Most states, including Connecticut, could do more to give consumers the price information they need for making educated healthcare choices, according to an annual report card released by two independent health policy organizations. The 2016 Report Card on State Price Transparency Laws developed by the Newtown-based Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute (HCI3) and Cal- ifornia-based Catalyst for Payment Reform (CPR), gave 43 states an "F" for failing to meet even minimum standards. Connecticut was among states getting an "F." To improve its grade, the report card suggested the state should take the data from its established all-payer claims database and post it on a publicly accessible website. Only three states — New Hampshire, Colorado, and Maine — received an "A" for providing detailed pricing on a variety of procedures through easy-to-use public websites, backed by rich data sources. UConn Health disputes it improperly ended pediatric services The University of Connecticut Health Center denies it is ceasing pediatric services at two locations improperly. Instead, it said, it is transferring operations to the Connecticut Children's Medical Center, the state's only pediatric hospital, with no loss in services. Sen. Minority Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven) said in a statement last week that the Office of Health Care Access (OHCA) is opening an inquiry into UConn Health's plan to stop all clinical pediatric services at their East Hartford and West Hartford locations. UConn Health did not notify the Office of Health Care Access of their plan to cease pediatric services by Oct. 1, 2016, Fasano said. A UConn Health spokesperson said Connecticut Children's has decided to op- erate pediatric clinics in the same sites of East Hartford and West Hartford with no expected change in access to pediatric care. A UConn Health statement said the decision was financially driven with expected annual savings of $700,000. Fasano said the review process is still required to ensure that any proposed change in service is fully vetted. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & CONSTRUCTION Minnesota firm considering Windsor for plant that would bring 70 jobs A Minnesota company is considering locating a new $25 million, 82,000-square-foot manufacturing plant on Marshall Phelps Road in Windsor by next summer, and hiring at least 70 local workers. Windsor's Economic Development Committee recently approved the com- pany's request for a tax break, which still must be approved by the Town Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission. If the project goes forward, Fabcon Precast, a national maker of industrial and commercial concrete wall panels, would contribute nearly $1 million to the town over four years. The only hitch is that the town has competition: New Britain and a city in Massachusetts. Ryan Ksiazek, Fabcon corporate project manager, said the initial site list in- cluded Southington, Killingly, and Massachusetts municipalities Springfield, East Longmeadow, Orange, Westfield and Wilbraham. Fabcon's nationwide customer base includes "the Amazons, Wal-Marts, and Sam's Clubs," Ksiazek said. — Harlan Levy, Journal Inquirer PTI Industries acquired by private equity firm holding company Enfield based PTI Industries has been acquired by a holding company backed by a Chicago private equity firm. Industrial Service Solutions (ISS), which is a portfolio company of the $2.4 bil- lion private equity firm the Edgewater Funds, bought PTI Industries for an undis- closed sum. A PTI spokeswoman said there have been no layoffs at the compa- ny that employs 120 people. PTI President Harley Dulude Jr. was also retained. PTI was founded in 1983 to provide non-destructive testing services to ma- chine shops serving the aerospace and medical industries. ECONOMY & LABOR CT GDP grows slower than national average Connecticut's gross domestic product grew by 0.9 percent in the first quarter of 2016, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That lags behind both national GDP growth of 1.2 percent and New England's 1.5 percent growth for the quarter. Connecticut was last in New England for GDP growth for the three months. BEA said Connecticut's overall GDP for the first quarter was $262.2 billion, sec- ond only in New England to Massachusetts, which has a GDP of $485.4 billion. Information technology, health care and social assistance, real estate and rental and leasing, as well as finance and insurance, were the three largest growth segments for the quarter. The construction, utilities and government sectors saw the biggest declines. Asking price for Greater Hartford small biz drops A new survey shows small business transactions in the first half of 2016 are up slightly from last year but asking prices were down in Greater Hartford. The survey from BizBuySell.com was based on data from 135 Hartford-area businesses listed in the second quarter of 2016 on the site. According to the report, if you want to buy a business in Hartford, the median asking price at the beginning of 2016 was $159,000. Owners asked for, on average, an annual revenue multiple of 0.62 and a cash flow multiple of 2.36. Businesses listed for sale in Hartford in the second quarter of 2016 had me- dian revenue of $400,000, down from $401,500 at this same time last year in first quarter of 2015. LEGAL Labor dept. issues stop work orders at 18 grocery stores The state Labor Department last week issued stop work orders at 18 Shop- Rite, Stop and Shop and Whole Foods locations in Connecticut after receiving wage complaints from several workers employed by the cleaning contractors for those stores. Employees from the labor department's Wage and Workplace Standards Divi- sion visited the grocery stores throughout the state and determined that the cleaning contractors did not have Connecticut workers' compensation coverage or unemployment coverage. The contractors were also cited for incorrectly treating their employees as in- dependent contractors. A total of 23 employees were providing cleaning services at the stores, which were located throughout the region including in West Hartford, Glastonbury, Manchester, Rocky Hill, Simsbury, South Windsor and East Hartford. BY THE NUMBERS 5% The planned state Department of Transportation fare increase for commuters taking the New Haven rail line, which will raise nearly $6 million to cover budget shortfalls. 468 The number of new housing permits issued by 104 Connecticut cities and towns in June, down nearly 8 percent from a year earlier. $159,000 The median asking price for a Greater Hartford company listed for sale in the second quarter, according to BizBuySell.com. 0.9% Connecticut's gross domestic product growth rate in the first quarter of 2016, below the nation's 1.2 percent growth rate, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ Labor Dept. issues stop work order at 18 grocery stores ■ UConn Health disputes it improperly ended pediatric services ■ Minnesota co. consider Windsor for plant that would bring 70 jobs ■ Treasurer's office said it could have saved $554M ■ UConn using some of its own funds to upgrade infrastructure 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, CT Health Care Weekly www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe WEEK IN REVIEW The price to ride the train out of New Haven is going up. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D

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