Western Mass. Chambers Pool Resources
WESTERN MASS. — A group of area chamber of commerce leaders have formed what they are calling an “important union” so they can benefit from one another’s knowledge and experience to better serve their individual business communities. “Chambers of commerce are unique to their local communities, but share similar challenges and concerns in managing and growing their organizations,” said Lenny Weake, president of the Quaboag Hills Chamber of Commerce. “We are working together to create one common message that tells the good work we are doing in local economic development.” Weake added that local chamber leaders also recognize the need to continuously improve and transform programs and services. “Working together makes each individual chamber stronger, thereby creating a stronger region,” he said. To help facilitate these partnerships, the chambers implemented the “Let’s Re-caffeinate Our Chamber” program, an initiative sponsored by TD Bank. The program is designed to bring together members, non-members, community leaders, and others in each of the chambers’ local communities. “There, they hope to learn more about what each organization is doing that works, and what can be done to improve,” said Weake. Simon Hong, retail market manager for TD Bank, noted that a strong local chamber of commerce is “essential” to a strong local community. “We applaud the Western Mass. chambers for their collaboration and are proud to support their efforts.” The first Re-caffeinate Our Chamber town meeting is Feb. 8 at the Quaboag Hills Chamber of Commerce from 8 to 10 a.m. For more information, call (413) 283-2418.

‘Pay-for-success’ Contracts
Pursued by State
BOSTON — The Patrick-Murray Administration recently announced a first-in-the-nation initiative to allow Massachusetts to enter into ‘pay-for-success’ contracts to encourage innovative solutions to social problems, improve the performance of government, and save taxpayers money. The Executive Office for Administration and Finance issued requests for response as a next step in pursuing these social-innovation-financing contracts. “Social-innovation financing is a tool that helps us tackle long-term social issues with innovative methods,” said Gov. Deval Patrick. “These initiatives will help us change the delivery of state services to save money and improve program performance.” Funding for the program would be paid from budgetary resources, but only if the programs work to deliver better social outcomes and savings to the state budget. President Obama’s FY 2012 budget included a proposal to invest $100 million in pay-for-success projects in seven pilot areas, including job training, education, juvenile justice, and care of children with disabilities. Through this initiative, the state expects to be well-positioned to compete for any federal funding that may be available in the future. “Social-innovation financing is one of the tools we are pursuing to accelerate system-wide improvements in government performance,” said Secretary of Administration and Finance Jay Gonzalez. “It’s a creative idea based on a simple premise — have government pay for demonstrated success rather than the promise of success.” Initially, the state plans to explore the use of social-innovation financing to tackle two challenging state issues — chronic homelessness and juvenile justice. For more information on contracts or social-innovation bonds, contact Abby Dosoretz at (617) 727-2040, ext. 35-402, or social.innovation@state.ma.us. Social-impact bonds are financing arrangements where third-party intermediaries and investors give service providers, typically nonprofits, upfront funding and other expertise to allow them to enter into pay-for-success contracts with the government.

Mortgage, Foreclosure Complaints Quadruple at Attorney General’s Office
BOSTON — Mortgage- and foreclosure-related complaints have quadrupled over the past two years to become the number-one reason consumers contacted the Attorney General’s Office for assistance in 2011, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced recently during a speech before the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. The Public Inquiry and Assistance Center (PIAC), Local Consumer Programs (LCP), and regional offices across the Commonwealth combined to handle 983 complaints reporting issues with mortgages, foreclosures, and loan modifications in 2011, representing a 431% increase since 2009. For the first time ever, mortgage complaints ranked first in 2011, outnumbering those related to auto sales, leasing, and defective auto parts by 164. “This data confirms what we have known for some time — the subprime lending and foreclosure crisis is a major concern for homeowners who are often faced with losing their most valued possession,” said Coakley. “It is further evidence that resolving this foreclosure crisis is the single most important thing we can do to restore a healthy economy. Our office has filed legislation to comprehensively address this issue and brought a landmark suit against the banks seeking real accountability for their unlawful conduct and relief for homeowners.” In December, the AG’s office filed the first comprehensive lawsuit to address the foreclosure crisis by seeking to hold banks accountable for illegal and deceptive conduct. Filed against Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Citi, and GMAC, the lawsuit sues the banks for their role in allegedly pursuing illegal foreclosures on properties in Massachusetts as well as deceptive loan servicing. “An Act to Prevent Unnecessary and Unreasonable Foreclosures” was filed by Coakley last year with Senator Karen Spilka and Representative Steven M. Walsh. If passed, the bill will prevent foreclosures by setting standards and mandating loan modifications in certain circumstances. Specifically, the legislation requires creditors to take commercially reasonable efforts to avoid foreclosure on certain mortgage loans secured on homes occupied by owners as their principal residences. Currently, the legislation is being considered by the Joint Committee on Financial Services. The Attorney General’s PIAC hotline answers thousands of calls each year from consumers with a range of questions and concerns in the area of consumer protection including automobiles, home improvement, debt collection, and retail sales. The hotline is staffed with trained information specialists who can offer referrals to appropriate organizations or government agencies for help, and provide information on the Attorney General’s consumer complaint and mediation processes and community-based consumer and mediation programs. Consumers with complaints can reach the PIAC hotline at (617) 727-8400. The Attorney General’s Office provides grants to a statewide network of LCPs. These nonprofit programs handle many consumer complaints in their own regions of the state where their local knowledge and community involvement enable them to provide effective assistance to consumers, allowing the Attorney General’s Office to focus on statewide patterns of deceptive and unfair trade practices and more complex complaints.

MAPI: Industrial Production Encouraging
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Reserve recently announced that industrial production increased 0.4% in December and manufacturing production increased 0.9%, while electric utilities saw a 2.7% decline, but mining industries increased 0.3%, according to Daniel Meckstroth, chief economist for the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI). “The outsized gain in manufacturing production in December more than offset the 0.4% decline in manufacturing production reported in November,” said Meckstroth. In the fourth quarter of 2011, manufacturing production increased at a 3.9% annual rate from the previous quarter, and manufacturing production grew 4% in 2011 compared to 2010. “Manufacturing experienced strong growth in December and was distributed across many industries within the sector,” Meckstroth added. “Fourteen major manufacturing industries grew, while only six industries declined in December. The increases were significant in both the durable goods (0.9%) and nondurable goods (0.8%) sectors. The December industrial production report is an encouraging end to the year as the U.S. outlook is racked with uncertainty. Europe, a major export market, has likely slipped into another recession, and there is much uncertainty concerning the possibility of contagion from the European banks, risks of public-policy mistakes, and a crisis of confidence in the U.S. MAPI believes that the U.S. economy will grow at a modest 2.1% pace in 2012 and manufacturing production will increase at a faster 3.4% growth rate. The superior growth in manufacturing comes from pent-up demand for motor vehicles, the need to upgrade business equipment, and more investment in energy and mineral exploration.”

Hampshire Council Secures Grant
NORTHAMPTON — The Hampshire Council of Governments, in partnership with the towns of Amherst, Belchertown, Northampton, and Williamsburg, was recently awarded a $60,000, multi-year Community Transformation Grant. The grant is designed to take a prevention-based approach to improving health and wellness in cities and towns across Massachusetts. Funding comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and will be administered by the Mass. Department of Public Health. “This critical funding will synchronize and focus wellness efforts that a wide variety of groups are engaged in here in Hampshire County,” said Todd Ford, executive director of the council. “By doing so, we will assist cities and towns in the development of local policies that bridge the gap between the promotion of wellness as a concept and the on-the-ground reality of providing residents access to resources that encourage exercise and healthy eating.” A key focus of the funding is an expansion of the Mass in Motion Municipal Wellness and Leadership Program, which works at the local level to support policy and environmental change to reduce obesity, improve nutrition, and promote active living. Ford noted that the program is one component of the Mass in Motion statewide anti-obesity initiative implemented by the Patrick-Murray Administration in 2009. The nationwide Community Transformation Grants program was created by HHS through funding provided by the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Overall, HHS has awarded approximately $103 million in prevention grants, reaching more than 120 million Americans. For more information on the local program, visit www.hampshirecog.org.