Voices for Upstate New York Unite to Advocate for Saratoga County


This morning, the Chamber was honored to host a panel of local legislators for a breakfast meeting with nearly 100 of our members in attendance at the Embassy Suites Hotel, in downtown Saratoga Springs, NY. The legislators included: State Senator Jim Tedisco, State Senator Daphne Jordan, and Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner. The program was moderated by Matt Jones, of The Jones Firm and a past-chair of the Chamber's Board of Directors.

Here's some good news from what we heard from this morning:

1. All three support Governor Cuomo's call to permanently cap property tax increases at 2%. They believe that extending the property tax cap will continue to help to control local spending and to address New York's high property tax burden.

2. All three support local restaurants and their employees who want to Save New York's Tip Credit. They noted that the Governor did NOT include this proposal in his budget. While it still may come up, it does not appear to be a priority at this time.

3. There is more funding in the Governor's budget for New York's state parks. State investments in the Saratoga Spa State Park, the Moreau Lake State Park and the Peebles Island State Park have all been helpful to those parks and the millions of people who use and visit them. 

With the good, comes some bad news as well. We believe this includes:

1. The composition of New York's state government leadership now clearly skews toward a focus on large urban areas. The Governor's budget did not focus or prioritize an agenda for Upstate New York. There is significant concern as well that the new school funding provisions might skew toward urban areas versus rural areas.

2. There was nothing substantive proposed to reduce state mandates which impact more rural counties more negatively. The proposals to require prevailing wage for all local projects could make it even harder for communities to afford infrastructure improvements and reductions in state aid to local villages will further do harm to Upstate's communities.

3. The single-payer health care option now being discussed would cost New York's taxpayers $138 BILLION dollars and it could result in the loss of a significant number of jobs in the health care sector. 

In opening remarks, Matt Jones noted how fortunate we've been in Saratoga County to have bipartisan support for many key initiatives. He specifically referenced the bipartisan support that led to the reprivatization of NYRA as an example of how our local legislators have a history of working together to get things done. The legislators themselves noted that they hope those in the leadership of both the Senate and the Assembly will find ways to work together listening to the concerns of Democrats and Republicans from Upstate New York,  and that the Governor will also be a partner with the legislature to move balanced ideas forward.