The Community Investment Fund: Continuing Investments In Failure, Courtesy of Your Elected Officials

Since the beginning of the second Donald J. Trump Administration, we have lived in an era I like to call “The Age of Doge.” Announced in late 2024, this advisory body has been torching waste, fraud, and abuse and the streamlining of government operations, reflecting a cultural shift in how citizens view government. 

The interest in Doge increases every day, especially as more people realize how badly government at all levels has been ripping them off over a protracted period of years. Given the economic horrors of the last four years, no citizen in his or her right mind wants to see more of their scarce dollars going for impractical and superfluous governmental endeavors.

But alas, we have Connecticut.

For many years. Connecticut Taxpayers are taxed for many failed programs in the State of Connecticut. Connecticut continues to rank last or near last in many economic and business friendly categories while ranking as one of the highest taxed states in the country. Connecticut is a state where the governor and the legislature could not develop sound economic, energy and tax policy if their collective lives depended on it. But Connecticut can fund shaky non-profits, “quasi-publics” (whatever “quasi-public” means) and “Funds” with regularity and by using your tax dollars. The Community Investment Fund Board is just one of a series of interesting agencies that gets to spend $875 million tax dollars and has shown little to no result in helping Connecticut out of its 35-year economic quagmire to date.

The Community Investment Fund Board (“CIF”) states the following according to its website: "The CIF will award up to $175 million each fiscal year. It will be awarded over two or more application periods per year. If this catches your attention and you would like to send your local representatives a thank-you note, the fund is a statewide program authorized in Section 32-285a of the Connecticut General Statutes.

Of course, failure in Connecticut is often a team effort.
Several state entities work together to award CIF grants: The Department of Economic and Community Development ("DECD") administers the program by overseeing the application process, vetting applications, sending application summaries to the CIF Board, and managing awards and reporting. As my friend and colleague Tony De Angelo often says, the DECD should be abolished for non-performance, (but I digress). In addition, the CIF Board and Office of the Governor review applications and the summaries prepared by DECD and make recommendations to the State Bond Commission. The State Bond Commission drives Connecticut further into debt and ruin as it approves projects for grants. (https://portal.ct.gov/communityinvestmentfund/about-the-fund?language=en_US). 

Below is a description of the applicable projects for funding:

Eligible Projects: Promote economic or community development in the municipality where the project is located and Consistently and systematically advance fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved and marginalized communities such as Black, Latino and indigenous and native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; persons comprising the LGBTQ+ community; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality. (https://portal.ct.gov/communityinvestmentfund/about-the-fund?language=en_US). Query if those working and taxpaying citizens burdened with fuel costs, food costs and electricity costs are “otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality” and are therefore, qualifying. However, my sentiment is they do not.

If you would like to add some cherries and sprinkles to this sundae of failure, the CIF Board is led by "economic expert" co-chairs Matthew Ritter, Speaker of the House and Martin R. Looney, Senate President Pro Tempore. Being Connecticut politicians that could not start an economic fire with a book of matches and a gallon of gas, they did the only thing they knew how to do. Give cash.

On March 11, the Board gave away a lot of cash.

Included in the giveaways were $2 million to help Planned Parenthood of Southern New England renovate a property into a new home for its New London health center. As I stated in a recent blog Planned Parenthood of Southern New England's President and CEO Amanda Skinner earned $434,095 and $18,574 in "other" compensation in fiscal year 2023. This organization also has $57,330,020 in "net assets" in fiscal year 2023. (https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/60263565) while also receiving an "emergency" funding of $800,000 from HB 7066 "An Act Concerning Interactions Between School Personnel And Immigration Authorities, The Purchase And Operation Of Certain Drones, Grants To Certain Nonprofit Organizations, And Student Athlete Compensation Through Endorsement Contracts And Revenue Sharing Agreements."  Obviously the $57,330,020 in "net assets" they have is not enough to repair this building in New London, they, being a poor charity and all.

$6.12 million was given to the Greater Dwight Development Corp. in New Haven to help build eleven units of affordable housing and community space. Linda Townsend Maier is the Executive Director of this organization and receives $120,113 along with $3,023 in "other" compensation in fiscal year 2023. This organization also has $2,809,764 in "net assets" in fiscal year 2023. (https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/61414605). New Haven keeps rebuilding and has little to show for it except for high taxes and a high crime rate. But it is in the top 10 in the country in defying Federal law in trying to protect illegal aliens from deportation.

We also find that $1.6 million was given to Hartford to acquire and redevelop three properties in its Homestead Redevelopment Corridor. According to its website, this corridor is described as follows "The Homestead Avenue Redevelopment Plan aims to employ a mix of land use strategies to transform this key thoroughfare in the Upper Albany neighborhood. A shared community vision will be developed through community and stakeholder collaboration. This vision will guide actions to accelerate brownfield cleanup, revive vacant properties, facilitate new housing opportunities, and implement placemaking strategies that showcase Homestead Avenue and Upper Albany's distinctive character."  (https://www.activatehomesteadave.com/about). I was unable to find any financials with regards to this project on their website. Meanwhile, it is sad and fair to say that the only thing Hartford has excelled at in the last four decades are crime and economic desertion and decay, so throwing more money at a sinking ship will solve nothing. There are many great game-changing economic ideas such as making Hartford a Qualified Opportunity Zone or a tax-free zone with added police and public safety support. How about funding real merit-based schools with real teachers teaching real skills? (But since all those ideas are from the “Book of Trump,” the Legislature avoids them like the plague regardless of the value they bring to a city desperately needing value).

Unfortunately, the economic redundancy and paralyzed thinking is not just limited to legislative Democrats. As quoted in the March 12, 2025 Hartford Business Journal “A roughly $250 million plan to transform Enfield’s dying mall into a mix of apartments, hotels, retail and restaurant space is in line for a $10 million state grant after a state panel included the project among 35 grants tentatively approved for $77.14 million in state bonding. 

“…that could really be transformative for all of our communities as we are seeing malls in general needing to be repurposed,” said House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora (R-North Branford), a member of the Community Investment Fund 2030 board. “A lot of them are dying around the state, and Enfield is sort of leading the way potentially as to what that project should look like. I think we have other malls down the road that might need the same sort of redevelopment.” (https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/community-investment-fund-board-oks-7714m-in-grants-for-enfield-mall-redevelopment-other-ct?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Green%20Hub%20becomes%20major%20player%20in%20Waterbury%20%7C%20Tax%20pros%3A%20Don%20t%20wait%20to%20create%20business%20succession%20plan&utm_campaign=HBJ%20Today%20031225. )Funny how other than borrowing money the question is never asked as to what “repurposing” will mean in the final analysis, if it even gets that far? Stores? People are either afraid to shop and/or shop at home. Housing? Who will live in overpriced apartments in an anti-business state where businesses are leaving left and right? Nonprofits? Great. Let us build more non-taxpaying properties in the State of Connecticut. Funding for building the projects? If you are a banker, would you lend to such a questionable project? I guess is not a worry with the CIF, which can crank up taxpayer money in a heartbeat, can just borrow more, taxpayer again, be damned.

Of course, there were many other organizations receiving funding from the Community Investment Fund. They included the typical non-profit organizations to help feed people, help to community activities, house people, street scapes, etc. What should amaze Connecticut taxpayers is that in a $26.2 billion dollar state budget one should examine how much money is already spent on social welfare services and programs. What is the net result? More funding for the same types of programs with Community Investment Fund spending along with the same results, which are lacking in results. Has there ever been any critical thinking as to whether fewer organizations and personnel could be reorganized to deliver a greater impact on services? The private sector does it all the time. But this of course, is the Connecticut government. (So, perish that thought).

But the beat goes on. Connecticut still has $100 to $150 billion dollars in short- and long-term debt along with unfunded liabilities that just never get addressed with the superficial all-purpose solution of reinstating the  "fiscal guardrails" and repetitive rhetoric on solving Connecticut's massive social and economic problems.  We really should have none of these social and economic problems with the money Connecticut Taxpayers have spent over the years. Yet we do. Connecticut has state agency after state agency with catchy, feel good “SomethingCT” type names and political nepotism continues as the norm with little results since the advent of the 1991 "cure-all" state income tax slammed on Connecticut Taxpayers, and such tax was the narcotic starting the state on the road to fiscal ruin.

For now. 34 years and counting Connecticut's decline is on view for all to see both economically and socially. The old/new funding by the Community Investment Fund Board is just more of the same. Throw good money after bad, drink to excess in the Legislative garage, and cheer about it all the way to bankruptcy.