The Greenwich Chamber of Commerce launched its first survey of 1,300 members to determine prevailing attitudes toward the current business climate and, in turn, to offer the findings as guidance to town leaders. The survey had 129 respondents.
Results included:
Ӣ 61 percent of respondents reported that business conditions were better than last year; 10 percent reported that conditions were worse.
”¢ 72 percent expected conditions this year to be better than last year; 5 percent expected conditions to be worse.
Impediments to growing business, according to the survey, included finding new clients (43 percent), regulations and permits (22 percent) and finding skilled labor (20 percent). Another 20 percent cited other problems, primarily regarding traffic and parking, the chamber reported.
Among respondents who do business in other towns, the survey found demand for business products and services was rated higher in Greenwich. However, the cost of real estate, difficulty in sourcing employees and the local regulatory environment were viewed as worse in Greenwich compared with neighboring areas.
The town departments viewed most favorably were schools, police, fire and community development. Businesses reported the most dissatisfaction with planning and zoning issues, parking, and wetlands and waterways.
“This survey underscores the fact that Greenwich remains a town where chamber businesses can grow, that businesses are experiencing an improvement in the local economy and that Greenwich remains highly desirable in terms of its services,” the chamber said in a statement. “The chamber is developing plans to build better communication processes between the business community and Town Hall and will use the results of the survey to guide this effort.”
