Senate Leadership
June 4, 2009
Democrats Keep Working for Budget Agreement
Real cuts, smart investments needed to protect Connecticut
One day after the end of the 2009 regular legislative session, Senate President Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn), Speaker of the House Christopher G. Donovan (D-Meriden), Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney (D-New Haven), and House Majority Leader Denise Merrill (D-Mansfield) joined legislators and small business owners at a news conference in New Britain to discuss the status of budget negotiations and how small businesses could be affected.
“We have worked hard for months to identify savings,” said Senator Williams, “and every dollar we save is a dollar we can use to offset proposed revenue increases. While we have searched for real cuts, we are also mindful that we cannot make reckless cuts that threaten our fragile economy or undermine public health. The regular session may be over but we will continue to work toward a budget agreement — relying on real cuts and smart investments to pull Connecticut through this economic crisis.”
“Job creation is critical to our economic recovery and to Connecticut’s future,” said Speaker Donovan. “This company is a perfect example of what can be accomplished with smart investments. The return in terms of jobs and productivity has far exceeded the investment. We’ve found substantive and real cuts, but if we follow the Governor’s lead on shortsighted cuts to programs like incubator grants, we’ll put recovery efforts at a standstill.”
Democratic leaders have endorsed more than $2.4 billion in cuts for the next biennial budget, including hundreds of millions of dollars of news cuts and cost saving measures recently agreed to in budget negotiations. At the same time, Democrats oppose reckless cuts that threaten to undermine the state’s economy and cost Connecticut high quality jobs.
Gov. Rell seeks to balance the budget by cutting tens of millions of dollars in aid and support to small businesses. One of her proposals includes the elimination of the Small Business Incubator Program (SBIP), which would have funding of $1.9 million over the next two years.
The SBIP provides grant money to help defray the financial burden of maintaining and growing a start-up technology based business. Eligible businesses can receive a grant of up to $50,000. According to the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT), 49 start-up companies have sought these funds in the past year. In addition, this program has been responsible for the creation of 6 new incubators and dozens of new jobs. One of the businesses helped by the SBIP is PV Squared, a solar electric design and installation company in New Britain.
“The grant funds are being used to pay the tuition for courses and other fees associated with classroom and workplace training,” said William Stillinger, of PV Squared. “It is already showing a positive effect. We have hired three individuals in Connecticut; these are new full-time jobs with benefits. Our sales revenue projection for 2009 is quadrupled the 2008 level, despite a down economy throughout the state and the nation. The training our people have received (and we hope with more to come!) has put us in far more resilient professional position than would be the case if the grant had not been available.”
BACKGROUND:
- Initiatives that help job creation that would be either eliminated or reduced if Gov. Rell’s proposed budget was adopted include: Jobs Funnel Project, Spanish American Merchant Association, Southeastern Connecticut Incubator, Developmental Research and Economic Assistance Grants, Jobs First Program, and Jobs First Employment Services.
- The SBIP already has a track record of success: 23 Companies with 88 employees have received SBIP grants; collective sales were more than $4,000,000 last quarter ($16m annualized). Marketing assistance provided by the SBIP program recently helped one incubator business catch the attention of Northrup Grumman who has awarded them a $7.4 million dollar contract.
- Incubators are locations where businesses are physically housed and given resources that all of them can access. This gives new businesses access to equipment, technology and testing facilities that they would not otherwise have access to. The University of Connecticut has incubators in Storrs, at the Health Center, and in Avery Point. Incubators also exist in East Hartford and New Britain. Incubators focus on high tech companies which offer high paying jobs and significant growth potential. Nationally — 94 percent of start-up companies in incubators are still in business after 5 years, whereas only 44 percent of start-up companies not in incubators are still in business after 5 years.
PV Squared is a design and installation company, an electrical contractor specializing in renewable energy systems such as solar photovoltaics, small wind turbines, and micro-hydroelectric energy, for residential, commercial, and municipal customers. The vast majority of business is installing solar electric systems. It was founded in 2002, and currently employs 15 people.
|
Senator Williams’ Derek Slap |
Listing of Leadership’s recent press releases. |
Senator Looney’s Derek Slap |
