Local EDC Releases

Preliminary Survey Details

The town’s first major examination of Newtown’s 1,750-member business community is gaining momentum quickly.

An electronic survey, designed to reach the leaders of businesses of all sizes, shapes, and services, is available by clicking on the Newtown Economic Development Commission website, www.newtown.org, and hitting the “Take Survey” button.

An EDC spokesman said the survey will be available online for a few more weeks, but that its accuracy depends on as many eligible responses as possible. All takers may do so anonymously so as to encourage frank discussion.

 EDC Chairman Ted Kreinik, owner of Kreinik & Co. LLC, certified public accountants, said, the questionnaire takes only seven minutes or so to complete but that it covers a lot of ground.

It asks about reasons businesses chose Newtown and what structural, regulatory, financial, housing, and transportation factors are necessary for them to prosper here. It asks how the economic development board can help those planning to expand operations and whether social factors are important to commercial outlets.

Early responses to the survey have been brisk, but officials stress that it is only for business owners and executives, not for the general public.

Of those answering the survey to date:

*61 percent said they operate only in Newtown, with no locations elsewhere.

*An additional 21 percent are home-based occupations, a group that is not well-known locally.

*Almost 60 percent have been in business in Newtown for more than ten years.

*More than half of the businesses answering, 53 percent, had from two to nine full-time employees, indicating that they have a major economic impact on the community.

*More than a dozen separate industries are represented to date. The types range from agriculture and construction to transportation and warehousing and wholesale trade. The larger blocks include retail trade, health care and social assistance, and professional, scientific and technical services.

Although the survey allows contributors to not identify themselves, about 40 percent of respondents have provided contact information and several have asked for Economic Development Commission assistance in discussing and solving problems.