Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • July 31, 2017 www.HartfordBusiness.com TOP STORY CBIA: Labor pact could lock in 'unsustainable' costs The five-year extension of state employees' labor contract agreed to in a House-approved concessions package is of deep concern to members of the Con- necticut Business and Industry Association, according to CBIA CEO Joe Brennan. Extending the labor pact from 2022 to 2027 not only would tie govern- ment's hands going forward, but would lock in pension and health benefit costs "that may not be sustainable" over the long term, Brennan said. The agreement maintains an expensive benefits system that state gov- ernment no longer can afford — even after the concessions — through 2027, some Republican lawmakers said in reaction to approval by the House of Representatives. And it greatly restricts the state's ability to lay off work- ers mid-2021, they add. But Democrats, including Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, maintain the labor agree- ment will save the state $1.5 billion this fiscal year and next. The agreement, for example, freezes wages for a few years, requires workers to pay more for their healthcare and pension benefits and creates a hybrid pension/defined- contribution plan for future employees. The yet-to-be-approved state budget "is a $5.1 billion problem," Brennan says, referring to the projected two-year deficit. "This [labor pact savings] is $1.5 billion of it, so there's still a long way to go." Though CBIA members are expressing their concerns to Brennan about the labor agreement, they also say not getting a budget done "further hurts Connecticut from a business climate standpoint," Brennan said, "so they want to see a deal done as soon as possible." ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & CONSTRUCTION Hartford unveils street-parking app Hartford's parking overseer is unveiling a new app to make it easier for users of the city's 1,800 curbside spaces downtown to pay for initial time, extend time or be alerted before their meter expires. The Hartford Parking Authority (HPA) said its mobile parking app can be downloaded free to motorists via Google Player or the iTunes App Store. Users can also manage their parking online at www.WoonerfCT.com. There is no extra fee to city residents and visitors for using the app, and street-parking rates will stay unchanged for now, Boone said. The app — called Woonerf — also offers other features, Boone said. It al- lows merchants to validate metered parking for customers; allows motorists to set up an e-wallet to purchase parking at a discount; and allows motorists to purchase a "bonus" hour if they are in danger of getting a parking ticket. LEGAL & COURTS Bloomfield CEO pleads guilty to wire fraud The CEO of now-defunct Bloomfield cryptocurrency operator Gaw Miners plead guilty July 20 in Hartford federal court to one count of wire fraud, accord- ing to federal prosecutors. Homero Joshua Garza, 32, faces up to 20 years in prison for his role in a two-year scheme in which he attracted investors to buy a virtual currency called paycoin. Investors purchased the rights to profit from a slice of computing (or "min- ing") power in Gaw's data center, but Gaw did not have as much computing power as it had promised. Investors lost nearly $9.2 million due to Garza's actions, according to U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Deirdre Daly's office, which prosecuted the case fol- lowing an FBI investigation of the company. Gaw used proceeds from newer cryptocurrency mining sales to pay out pre- vious investors what they were owed, according to Daly, who said that Garza made various false statements to investors. Garza will be sentenced Oct. 12. ENERGY & UTILITIES Millstone cool to Malloy's ordered study of nukes' viability Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed an executive order last week aimed at resolving hotly contested questions about the economic viability of the Millstone Power Station, a nuclear-powered generator of electricity crucial to Connecticut's goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But Millstone's owner warned the gov- ernor's action may be too late. An intense lobbying campaign by Dominion Energy, the owner of Millstone, failed to convince the Malloy administration or a majority of legislators over the past two legislative sessions that it needs more favorable rules govern- ing the sale of electricity to keep the plant open. The company reiterated last week it wants action in a special session this year, not recommendations for change in 2018. Malloy's order directs the Department of Energy and Environmental Protec- tion and the Public Utility Regulatory Authority to assess the regional energy market, procurement rules and the economics of Millstone, whose two nuclear reactors in Waterford can meet nearly half the state's electric needs and pro- duce most of its carbon-free power. He set a deadline of Feb. 1. Dominion said that was insufficient. – Mark Pazniokas | CT Mirror TRANSPORTATION Amtrak loses bid to operate new Hartford commuter rail A joint venture of TransitAmerica Services and Alternate Concepts was cho- sen over Amtrak and three other bidders last week as operator of the Hartford Line, a commuter rail service to New Haven and Springfield that will open next year with a deep federal operating subsidy. Eighty percent of what the governor's office says will be a $20 million operat- ing budget will be covered for three years by the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, which also has subsidized the CTfastrak bus rapid-transit service since it opened in 2015. Starting in May, the Hartford Line will offer 17 weekday roundtrips from New Haven to Hartford, with a dozen roundtrips between Hartford and Springfield. Weekend service will be 13 roundtrips between New Haven and Hartford and nine between Hartford and Springfield. – Mark Pazniokas | CT Mirror NONPROFITS Nonprofits: We can save CT $300M by taking on gov't services Community-based nonprofits say they can help Connecticut save $300 mil- lion over two years by converting state human services work to the nonprofit sector, according to an advocacy group promoting the claim in an online ad. Without a state budget in place, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed an executive order to manage a $5 billion projected deficit in fiscal 2018, which began July 1. The order included nonprofit spending cuts, prompting more than two dozen organiza- tions to stop providing services, said Brett Broesder, co-founder and vice president of Campaign for Tomorrow's Jobs, a nonprofit that advocates for workforce pre- paredness, business growth and innovation, and fiscal sustainability. To arrive at the estimated savings, the CT Community Nonprofit Alliance cal- culated the difference in the per-person cost between state employees provid- ing certain services vs. nonprofit providers. Using nonprofits to deliver services at a lower cost than what the state pays its workers would help achieve those savings, Broesder said. For instance, of the 13 local mental health authorities in Connecticut, seven are run by nonprofit providers but six are run by the state. According to docu- ments supplied by Broesder, the per-person cost of the state-operated authori- ties is more than double the cost of those run by nonprofits. HEALTH CARE CT hospitals using app to coordinate care Twenty-five Connecticut hospitals have partnered for a year with a Boston- based health tech company called PatientPing that helps healthcare profes- sionals coordinate patient care, according to the Connecticut Hospital Associa- tion (CHA). The app gives medical providers real-time information about where patients are being treated. Patient information also can be shared via the app through the health- care system. The technology was adopted in May 2016 and has relayed more than 455,000 notifications to more than 300 healthcare providers across 10 states, said Jay Desai, co-founder and CEO of PatientPing. BY THE NUMBERS 80% The percentage of the annual $20 million Hartford commuter line budget that will be covered by the federal government during its first three years of operation, beginning in 2018. $129M The unclaimed property revenues collected by the state Treasurer's office in fiscal 2017, which was 26 percent higher than expected. $280,000 The median price of a Connecticut single-family home sold during the month of June, up from $275,950 in the year-ago period, according to the Connecticut Association of Realtors. 58,000 The square footage of a new Hampton Inn and Suites being built in Rocky Hill. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ Rocky Hill Hampton Inn breaks ground ■ CBIA: Labor pact could lock in 'unsustainable' costs ■ CT's pension plan returns set FY17 record ■ Report: Budget impasse pressures cities, towns ■ House approves union concessions deal 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 CBIA CEO Joe Brennan says businesses are wary of the state labor concessions deal. P H O T O | H B J F I L E

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