Panel weighs in on economic, labor
outlook for new administration
By KATHY KAHN
Among the Westchester-Rockland
delegation who attended Small Business Day in Albany
were, (from left): Hector May, president, Executive
Compensation Planners, New City; Scott Liebert, CLG
Financial, Nanuet; Lee Marks, director, New York State
Health Plan Association, Albany; Al Samuels, president,
Rockland Business Association; and Robert Salmon, senior
partner, H&S Sales & Consultants,
Tarrytown.
Calling the state’s current economic climate
a “perfect storm of unaffordability,” Empire State
Development Corp.’s new co-chairmen Patrick Foye
and Dan Gunderson outlined several ideas to create
a friendlier business environment here.
The two men, along with state Department
of Labor Commissioner Patricia Smith, offered an
update on how they’re working to change the way
their agencies do business during Albany’s Small
Business Day March 27.
They vowed to eliminate overlapping agencies,
saying there are 28 separate branches in the Empire
State Development Corp. (ESDC) that need to be streamlined
to deliver better service to both existing and potential
new businesses.
Foye said he and Gunderson are working
to make sure they’re on the same page and not duplicating
efforts. The consulting firm A.T. Kearney is preparing
a report on how the agency can improve itself at
no charge to the state.
“The report will outline ways to streamline
economic development for the state,” said Errol
Cockfield, press secretary for New York Business
Development Corp. (NYBDC). “They are a willing partner
in the process, and are looking at ways to help
us improve management and operations and give us
a framework of how to move forward.”
Kearney has been working on the report
since mid-January and will release the findings
sometime this month. “We have a new administration
and new leadership here at the BDC,” Cockfield said.
“This report will help us get our arms around management
of this agency.”
Foye and Gunderson said they hope to develop
a one-stop shopping approach at ESDC, helping to
cut the mounds of red tape currently tangling businesses.
Specifically, a redesign of the agency’s
Web site will make it user friendly, promised Foye,
saying the existing site is a jumble of confusion
that leaves people calling the 800 number “and constantly
getting a busy signal.”
Another area the pair plans to focus on
is New York’s tourism industry, which fuels more
than 700,000 jobs statewide. “The governor’s wife,
Slida Wall Spitzer, recently hosted a reception
to roll out our new ‘I Love New York’ tourism campaign.
It’s been around for 30 years, and now been totally
revamped. We’ll be hiring a chief marketing officer
and adding a new agency. We think we can do a better
job promoting tourism,” Foye said.
Gunderson, who is running the western portion
and southern tier’s eight regional offices, said
part of the ESDC’s plan includes working with the
Centers of Excellence established in the SUNY system.
Gunderson toured his region with SUNY Chancellor
John Ryan, who recommended the ESDC work closely
with the state’s university system to help grow
technology.
Smith, the Department of Labor’s new commissioner,
talked about the recent changes to workers’compensation.
While they are going to help small-business owners,
she said, more work needs to be done. She suggested
creating a tracking system to see what types of
injuries have the highest claims and medical costs.
“We can work on creating programs that make the
workplace safer and introduce preventative programs.
Other states are doing this successfully … we also
need to streamline the system where workers get
medical care promptly.”
Labor law enforcement has been underutilized,
Smith added. “It’s time to do something about people
who do not comply with labor laws and those who
do. If we go after those who aren’t playing by the
rules, we can level the playing field for businesses
that are complying.”
Like the ESDC, the Department of Labor
plans to revamp its cumbersome Web site and rein
in the 182 different funding streams that run through
18 different agencies under its umbrella.
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