The Ridgefield Economic and Community Development Commission has released a COVID-19 Business Impact Survey.  The group says it's a comprehensive questionnaire to gauge how the town’s 600 businesses and nonprofit organizations are performing during the pandemic. 

The 44 mostly-multiple choice questions are divided among five categories: Operations and Supply Chain, Workforce, Finance, Business Resources, and Future.  The Commission says data collected from the survey will help Ridgefield officials gain a better understanding of the COVID-19 business climate and inform which resources to pursue in support business and nonprofit community. 

Ridgefield-based businesses and organizations can anonymously complete the COVID-19 Business Impact Survey before June 30th, with the link found on the town's website. 

One of the challenges the ECDC is hearing from businesses owners is the difficulty of wooing laid-off workers back to their jobs. Some workers, particularly older employees, are wary of the health risks associated with being around others in public. And, an unintended consequence of the PPP is that some employees—particularly in the restaurant and retail sectors—can earn more by staying home.

“Now into Connecticut’s Phase II re-openings, we’re looking to gauge what level businesses are operating at, if they’ve been successful at shifting to a larger online presence, and whether there have been any hiccups with the move to more curbside pickup and deliveries. Importantly, we also want to understand the impact of federal programs like Small Business Administration loans and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and whether businesses have the resilience to withstand a second pandemic wave, should one occur,” said Commission chair Geoffrey Morris.