The Town of Mansfield and the University of Connecticut engaged ESI to analyze the potential economic and fiscal impacts of UConn’s Next Generation Connecticut Initiative (NextGenCT) on Town. NextGenCT was a ten-year, $1.54 billion capital investment plan to strengthen UConn’s capacity as a global STEM leader and economic development engine for Connecticut. The Town and the University sought a systematic estimate of anticipated tax revenue benefits of the program alongside any net new service, education, and infrastructure expenditures that would result from the increased physical and student footprint associated with the program.
ESI led a multi-disciplinary consulting team in reviewing publicly available reports from the Town and the University, analyzing data provided by both institutions, conducting secondary research, and holding one-on-one and group interviews with key stakeholders. The analysis drew on the precedent set by two prior UConn capital initiatives, UConn 2000 and UConn 21st Century, which represented nearly $2 billion in investment between 1995 and 2014, to inform projections of the scale and distribution of effects anticipated from NextGenCT. In addition, fiscal analysis was performed for relevant budget categories to estimate the marginal cost of additional service needs on the Town budget.
The report found that NextGenCT was likely to have significant economic impacts within the Town economy, generating meaningful fiscal benefits to the Town government, including increased partnership opportunities in transportation, public safety, and economic development. The analysis also concluded that the Town was likely to receive higher PILOT payments from the State as the assessed value of State-owned land increases through NextGenCT implementation. The study also quantified the potential increases in Town costs to maintain a consistent level of service quality for residents. The findings provided the Town and UConn with an evidence base for communicating with the community, local stakeholders and state policymakers about the initiative.