Another Voice / Economic development
Craig W. Turner: State must drop job-killing wage mandates proposal
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At the beginning of April, Gov. David A. Paterson and the State Legislature approved a $131 billion budget that increased state spending by more than $10 billion, reformed nothing and heaped more than $7 billion in new taxes onto already overburdened business and citizen taxpayers. Several state legislators said after the passage of the budget: “We did the best we could do under the circumstances.”
We strongly disagree, but it’s now time to move forward to address other state issues affecting New York’s economy and upstate, in particular.
First and foremost is industrial development agency reform. The New York State Economic Development Council estimates that more than $2 billion in “civic facilities” projects — i. e. schools, senior homes, hospitals — are being held hostage as the debate continues over burdensome wage mandates on companies receiving IDA incentives.
“Held hostage” is the key phrase here, as it has been admitted by everyone from labor organizations to state legislators that the punishment for opposing wage mandates is the hold-up of this key component of community development.
Unfortunately, that strategy has backfired — no one in a union or in an “open shop” is at work on these stalled projects. In addition, since it’s now been more than a year that the state has gone without this provision in the IDA legislation, many contractors have given up hope on the projects. That means they’re not “shovel-ready,” which, unfortunately for job creation in New York State, is the key requirement to be eligible for federal stimulus funding.
It’s time for Albany to end the debate on this bill and put people back to work on these projects. The wage mandate piece of the IDA legislation must be dismissed. In the recently passed state budget, employers upstate were given a host of new reasons to leave New York for greener pastures, including new taxes on small businesses, health insurance and utility costs. The business community, particularly upstate, simply cannot endure any more government- imposed burden.
In Ulster County, a local decision was made to place wage mandates on IDA incentives. During about a two-year period that the mandates were in place, the Ulster County IDA administered zero projects. In January of this year, the wage mandate provision was suspended. In only a few months since, the UCIDA has already administered three projects, one of which is already completed. It’s a clear indication that wage mandates are job killers.
For economic recovery to begin, we need Albany to truly focus on economic development, particularly in upstate. Almost immediately, work can restart on more than $2 billion worth of projects statewide with a change in IDA legislation that has little to no fiscal impact on the state budget.
Two billion dollars worth of projects. That’s what we in the economic development business call “stimulus.”
Craig W. Turner is director of public policy for the Buffalo Niagara Partnership.
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