Michael Gormley of the Associated Press reports -”A classic Albany deal is in the works that could protect 1 million New York City renters from big rent increases while also capping the growth in property taxes in the suburbs and upstate.

The Assembly, led by New York City Democrats, planned to pass its measure on Monday to strengthen and expand protections for people living in rent-controlled apartments, mostly in New York City.

The Senate, led by suburban Republicans, has already passed a bill proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo that would cap the growth of property taxes at 2 percent a year.

Advocates on all sides of each issue are scrambling to stop efforts to weaken the major bills in closed-door negotiations. That includes proposals to amend Cuomo’s property tax cap bill by allowing the annual tax rate to rise as much as 4 percent, with more expenses added to a list that could allow a local school board to suspend the cap.”

TO read more click here.

According to a Siena College poll released today - “By a nearly four-to-one margin, 78-20 percent, voters want any teacher layoffs to be based on an evaluation of the teachers’ performance in the classroom and not based on seniority,” Steve Greenberg said. “Voters are clear and strong in their belief that LIFO must go despite teachers’ union support and any concern over arbitrary firings. At least 70 percent of every demographic group, with only one exception, says teacher performance is the criteria that should be used for layoffs. The exception is union households, where voters still favor performance over seniority by a commanding 65-34 percent margin.”

To read more poll results click here.

“The labor-backed Fiscal Policy Institute’s (FPI) examination of “tax expenditures” seems to conclude that New York would be better off with even higher taxes on its employers. Nothing could be further from the truth,” said Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of The Business Council of New York State. “In New York state low taxes are not the problem.”

The Business Council pointed out that state and local taxes on business amount to $56 billion, second only to California and more than Texas by $3 billion and 64 percent above fourth place Florida, according to the Conference of State Taxation/Ernst & Young 2009 State Tax Climate Report.Total state and local business taxes in New York are 5.5 percent of gross state product, almost 20 percent above the national average, according the same report.

To read more of The Business Council’s statement click here.

We thought are readers would be interested in the following article by Laura Nahmias City Hall News that cites Democrat Majority Senators (Aubertine, Foley and Valesky) receiving considerable financial support from organized labor.  The support from organized labor is for passage of the Taxpayer Protection Act.  (Martin Act)

With less than two weeks left in the election, three vulnerable state senators—Brian Foley, Darrel Aubertine and David Valesky—are receiving a much-needed boost from several of the state’s largest unions in the form of a $200,000 independent ad buy.

Union officials said the senators are essential to union hopes for passage of the Taxpayer Protection Act, a bill proposed by former primary rivals Assembly Member Richard Brodsky and State Sen. Eric Schneiderman. The bill would expand the Martin Act – giving pensioners who lost billions in the financial meltdown recourse to sue some of the state’s largest financial firms to recoup their losses.

Unions who have contributed to the independent expenditure include SEIU 1199, Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 773, and CWA 1180, according to Scott Levenson, president of the Advance Group, the firm putting the ads together.

The expenditure will go toward production of at least three television ads that will air on News12 and local cable stations for the next two weeks, Levenson said. The first ad featuring Foley, a Suffolk County Democrat, will air Friday. The 30-second spot directs voters not to support Foley’s GOP rival, Lee Zeldin.

Read more »

Governor David A. Paterson today announced the launch of New York First, an innovative business-focused website geared toward companies expanding in or choosing to locate in New York State. Prior to the website’s launch, an interested business stakeholder had to view multiple State agency websites to learn the full scope of economic development programs available in New York. Now, New York First (www.NYfirst.NY.gov) houses all of that information in one place-searchable by type of assistance, size of business, MWBE status, industry, administering agency and more.

To visit the website click here.

According to website called 247wallst.com has published a list of “America’s Ten Dead Cities,” and Buffalo ranks first and Albany is seventh. Only New York and Michigan have two cities on the list.

The website states - “Most of America’s Ten Dead Cities were once major manufacturing hubs and others were important ports or financial services centers. The downfall of one city, New Orleans, began in the 1970s, but was accelerated by Hurricane Katrina.

Notably, the rise of inexpensive manufacturing in Japan destroyed the ability of the industrial cities on this list to effectively compete in the global marketplace. Foreign business activity and US government policy were two of the three major blows that caused the downfall of these cities. The third was the labor movement and its demands for higher compensation which ballooned the costs of manufacturing in many of these cities as well.

In 1900, Buffalo was the eighth largest city in America. It was located on one of the busiest sections of the Erie Canal, the terminus of the canal on the Great Lakes. Thanks to its location, Buffalo had huge grain milling operations and one of the largest steel mills in the country. Buffalo prospered during WWII as did many northern industrial cities. After the WWII, the manufacturing plants returned to the production of cars and industrial goods. The population rose to more than 500,000 in the mid-1950s. It is half that today. Buffalo was wounded irreparably by the de-industrialization of America

Albany is still the capital of New York State. It was once one of the largest “inland ports” in the world sitting near the place where the Hudson River meets the Erie Canal. This helped it become a major center for finished lumber and iron works. Perhaps because of the influence of the politicians who worked in the city, several universities and colleges were built there. The city’s manufacturing industry helped the population to rise to 134,000 in 1950. it is now under 95,000. The higher education institutions in the region have begun to help Albany become a regional center for information technology and the biotechnology industries, but these are not large enough to offset declines in the city’s fortunes which began in the 1960s.”

To read more click here.

The Business Council of New York State and New York State SHRM are proud to announce the 4th Annual “Best Companies to Work for in New York” program. Don’t miss out on your chance to be recognized as one of the best places to work in all of New York State. The registration deadline is October 22, 2010.

Go to http://www.nysshrm.org/Best_Companies_1.php to register. Got questions? Contact Jessica Pouchan: (717) 909-1570 / jessicap@bestcompaniesgroup.com

or Lorri Zelman at (212) 403-6170 / lzelman@spges.com.

Did you see the list of winners list from last year? The list as well as the registration form can be found at http://www.nysshrm.org/Best_Companies_1.php.

Sign up today!

New York ranks dead last in the nation when it comes to “business friendly” states and unfortunately, Albany doesn’t seem anxious to climb out of that bottom spot. Assemblyman Dean Murry ,a small business owner, in a recent speech on the floor of the New York State Assembly, tells his colleagues that he like many New Yorkers has had Enough Already with their unending ability to raise taxes and drive jobs and business out of our state.

This is a link to the video of that speech on YouTube.com. :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rkhetobyhq4

Erin Billups of YNN reports the recently passed State budget contains many new taxes on businesses and individuals across the state. These taxes include a lesser-known tax, the so-called “golden parachute” severance packages for out-of-state residents that has businesses crying foul.

As part of her report, she spoke with Business Council President Kenneth Adams who expressed his concerns about this and other taxes passed as part of the budget.

To see the video of from YNN click here.

Syracuse.com reporter Rick Moriarity reports on the various views on the new Excelsior Jobs program.

He writes: “New York’s new jobs program is most notable for what it doesn’t include.

What the Excelsior program does not include are tax credits for law firms, shopping malls, power plants and other businesses that are unlikely to leave the state. It also will not help companies that fail to create promised jobs.

In other words, it won’t make the same mistakes made by the much-maligned Empire Zone program, the program it is replacing. That’s a promise from the man in charge.

“We’ve got a solid program, a lot different than the one we had before,” said Dennis Mullen, chairman and CEO of Empire State Development Corp., the state’s economic development agency.”

But, Moriarity goes on to note concerns of The Business Council of New York State: “Ken Pokalsky, senior director of government affairs for the state Business Council, said the council agrees with the program’s focus on strategic industries. But he said its limit of $50 million in new tax credits each year is not enough. That’s less than half the new credits issued each year of the Empire Zone program after it was amended to limit abuses, he said.

Pokalsky said the program’s property tax credit, in particular, is too limited. High property taxes are among the most pressing problems for businesses in New York, so greater relief is necessary, he said.

The Business Council also objects to the program’s prohibition against “double dipping.” A company that is receiving Empire Zone benefits will not be allowed into the Excelsior program. Pokalsky said companies should be allowed to collect tax credits under either program for separate facilities. As the law is written, a company that has a facility in an Empire Zone cannot receive benefits for a different facility under the Excelsior program, he said.”

Read the story.