Malloy to Discuss Economic Development at Forum

With his budget proposal on the table, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will discuss economic development and strategy in Connecticut at a Key Issues Forum on Tuesday, March 1, at the .

The forum, sponsored by The Hartford Courant, will also include Greg Hayes, chief financial officer for United Technologies; Susan Coleman, a University of Hartford finance professor; and Tom Condon, a columnist for The Courant.

Among other topics, Malloy's office said in a news release that he will discuss "key strategies to create and retain Connecticut jobs, how getting our fiscal house in order will bring the stability businesses need to compete and thrive, and his 'First Five' initiative to attract companies to Connecticut and bring jobs to the state."

In his budget proposal, Malloy said the "First Five" initiative would "provide incentives to the first five businesses that each bring a minimum of 200 new full-time jobs to the state within the next 24 months."

On Tuesday, the governor asked businesses interested in the proposal to contact his office directly.

“I’ve said from the beginning that I plan to be very involved in attracting new businesses to the state, and keeping the ones we already have,” Malloy said. “The program takes our best job creation tools, like the Reinvestment Tax Credit, the Manufacturing Assistance Act and the Job Creation Tax Credit, and allows them to be combined so the benefits to businesses increase.  Employers are also taking note of the way in which this budget gets our state’s fiscal house back in order—no gimmicks and no borrowing. I had to make a number of tough decisions in this budget, but the creation of a program like ‘First Five’ was a no-brainer.” 

The forum is scheduled to take place from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Lincoln Theater on the University of Hartford campus at 200 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford.

The event is free, but those who want to attend should reserve a seat by calling the University of Hartford's box office at 860-768-4228 or 1-800-274-8587.