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September 24, 2020

As Congress flails, Lamont COO says state weighing more biz assistance

HBJ Photo | Steve Laschever State Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe
By Matt Pilon

The prospects of another stimulus bill out of Congress are looking increasingly slim, and that has Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration weighing the potential for another state-backed assistance package to help employers get through the fall and winter.

Josh Geballe, Lamont’s chief operating officer, revealed those discussions Thursday during an address to members of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, which held its annual September economic conference on Zoom, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think we have all been hoping and waiting for the federal government to take further action,” said Geballe, who is also the commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services. “We’re getting increasingly resigned to the likelihood that they will not move, either before the election or through a lame duck period, regardless of how the election shakes out.”

While the federal government can provide far greater resources, like it did through the Paycheck Protection Program, the state may step in to the extent it’s able, Geballe said.

While Geballe did not provide details, such a program could be similar to the $50 million in bridge loans the Department of Economic and Community Development offered to employers early in the pandemic.

[Read more: CBIA survey: 47% of CT companies expect 2020 profit]

Chris DiPentima, CBIA’s recently named CEO, said his members, 86% of which applied for a PPP loan, have their fingers crossed for further federal help.

Job losses in the state during the pandemic have been “staggering and unfathomable,” said 

DiPentima, who was previously president of Middletown-based Pegasus Manufacturing.

The state has an unusually high balance in its Rainy Day Fund, but there are multibillion-dollar deficits projected over the next few fiscal years, which will put pressure on state lawmakers to find ways to close the gaps.

CBIA has been urging lawmakers and others to sign a policy pledge, part of its recently launched Rebuilding CT campaign, calling for stronger workforce development programs, greater use of nonprofit service providers and other measures.

“We have an enormous opportunity ahead of us to rebuild our state, better and stronger than before,” DiPentima said.

Geballe said he is focused on reducing the cost of state government, through technology upgrades and other initiatives.

"First of all, we know that the goal as we go forward is both to avoid, to the extent we possibly can, tax increases and provide tax certainty to businesses and residents in Connecticut, but at same time protect critical services we provide as a state and that so many people rely on, particularly at a time like this, when so many people are suffering and so many people depend on the social safety net we provide,” Geballe said.

Geballe said the real estate market has been one bright spot during the pandemic, as residents of other states, as well as some companies, he said, weigh Connecticut.
“The residential real estate market is very hot in Connecticut right now, a lot of people taking another look at this state,” he said.

While Connecticut has contained the COVID-19 virus better than some other states, the COVID-19 is an ever-present risk, he said.

“We’re still clearly in the middle of this journey, we still have a long way to go to build back,” he said. “We know this virus is out there, it’s highly contagious, it’s a constant risk.”

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