New York's regulatory environment is a big problem GCEDC's CEO Steve Hyde told legislator's during a meeting in the Old Courthouse on Wednesday afternoon.
A "making it up on the fly" attitude among mid-level bureaucrats helps to chase business away from the state and makes it harder for Genesee Economic Development to operate, Hyde said.
His examples: A Department of Labor opinion saying GCEDC should have paid prevailing wage in the construction of the MedTech facility; the Authorities Budget Office compensation report; and new difficulty in getting a rail line built into the Agri-Business park.
"It’s funny when you're trying to do progressive business development, how bureaucrats who really don't understand business development will make up new regulations on the fly," said Hyde during a meeting of the Ways and Means Committee.
Hyde also provided financial data on GCEDC's performance, noting that the county's $250,000 (approximate) annual investment in GCEDC has been leveraged into: $18.7 million in capital investment by area businesses; 116 PILOT projects that currently generate $2.2 million in new tax revenue -- and will eventually generate $4 million for local governments; and an increase of $2.2 million in sales tax revenue.
According to Hyde, for every $1 invested by Genesee County in 2010 in GCEDC, $16.54 in tax payments are returned to the various taxing jurisdictions in the county.
Much of this information will be presented at a public information meeting April 11, but so far, only 11 people have signed up to attend.
As for the regulatory climate, Hyde started off talking about the Department of Labor opinion and the conclusion of its attorney that the Genesee Gateway Local Development Corp. should have paid prevailing wage on construction the MedTech facility.
"We had an attorney from the Department of Labor unilaterally write a decision against our nonprofit LDL because the LDL has some sort of association with the (Industrial Development Agency)," Hyde said. "I don't know how one attorney in a single regulatory agency can issue an opinion that pierces the veil of state and federal law on nonprofits."
He called the idea of labeling a nonprofit corporation a public entity a "travesty" and "disrespectful of nonprofit laws in this country."
"If we fail on this one, it will be a very expensive issue not just for us, but could effect the college and the county directly," Hyde said.
On the Authorities Budget Office report, Hyde called the agency a young regulatory body that engages primarily in writing new rules for IDAs to follow -- regulations that haven't been enacted by elected officials.
"They come up with interpretations that are far reaching beyond any legislation," Hyde said.
On the Agri-Business Park, Hyde said that no major food processor will want to move into the park without it being connected to rail lines. The GCEDC has received a grant to build a rail line, but one "mid-level" bureaucrat in the Department of Transportation office in Rochester is holding up the funding.
"He's got us jammed up right now," Hyde said. "Now I'm going to have to work the chain, go to Hawley or Ranzenhofer. I told him, 'It's not your job to make regulations on the fly.'"
Besides the difficulty the GCEDC is facing with its own regulators, Hyde said the Department of Environmental Conservation is making it harder for businesses to build and expand in New York. As an example, Hyde said the DEC is expanding its "short form" environmental impact application from one page to four.
"One of the questions is about 'environmental justice,'" Hyde said. "How do you like that term, 'environmental justice'? It's just absurd."
Senior VP of Operations Mark Masse said the regulatory environment is one of the reasons an agency like GCEDC is needed, to help level the playing field with other states.
"We think it's bad living in NewYork, but there are people outside of New York who think we're closed for business because of these issues," Masse said.
But there may be help on the way. Hyde, and Legislator Hollis Upson, reiterated that that the Cuomo administration seems to be taking concerns about over-regulation seriously.
Members of the GCEDC recently met with Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy, Hyde said, and Duffy was quite concerned about what he heard and promised specifically to look into the Department of Labor and ABO issues.
"Duffy really did seem interested in trying to knock down some of this bureaucracy," Hyde said.
Hyde considers it a travesty
Hyde considers it a travesty and disrespectful of non-profit laws that the Department of Labor issued a report regarding prevailing wages on the MedTech park project. I consider it a travesty that a highly paid and apparently successful public employee like Steve Hyde cannot grasp the fact that regulators consider it shady when a Public Authority creates a non-profit corporation in order to circumvent certain laws and regulations.
I also consider it a travesty that a public employee ostensibly at the helm of development in this county thinks the idea of environmental justice is a joke. Apparently, he doesn't understand that there is a long history of development in this country that places highly polluting or environmentally damaging industries in less-economically advantaged geographies; businesses have a tendency to pollute and exploit where the people have less power to oppose them. And Steve Hyde thinks that it is absurd for the State to try and end that practice.
What is really absurd is that Steve Hyde and the rest of his cohorts in the GCEDC think it is terrible that they must face oversight in any form. He continues the whining about the ABO. The ABO exists to make sure the activities of the many Public Authorities (IDAs, etc.) in this state operate in the open. Without it, there would be nothing forcing Public Authorities to report anything and nothing holding those Authorities accountable. What is also absurd is that the ABO has no regulatory teeth and can only issue reports. And as we all know, reports do nothing - especially in this county and with our Assembly members.
It goes on and on. Ugh.
I do have a problem with
I do have a problem with "environmental justice" as a regulatory measure.
(In the abstract -- I know NOTHING about what the DEC is actually trying to get at here, just the term itself does seem absurd.)
Environmental justice strikes me as an entirely abstract and subjective standard. I can certainly understand how a dollars and sense type of business person might react negatively to it.
You can measure parts per million of pollutants, but you can't measure "environmental justice."
Through such terms can paths be hewn toward regulatory abuse and government overreach.
(The other caveat -- I've done no follow up on weather the DEC has really come up with any such kind of question -- I'm just reacting to the term as presented).
Hyde likes to use the word
Hyde likes to use the word bureaucrat alot in a negative way..What isn't he but not just another bureaucrat..I have the same take as Brandon as far as Hyde feels the GCEDC should have no over sight.. And that only he should get a prevailing wage for his role as the head of the GCEDC..He comes across as someone with alot of excuses why they aren't creating more jobs..Also if they have all this money in the bank 4 million or so why do we have to fund them to the tune of 250,000 a year..Give that money to Genesse Justice or the County Nursing home..Maybe Mr.Upson their yes man could answer that..
Hyde is protecting his
Hyde is protecting his paycheck. Upson is a shill that makes $10,000 extra dollars a year to sit on the Genesee County Legislature and make sure Hyde gets his ridiculous paycheck in the first place. Upson would probably do it for free, but why not take the money too, right?
There is absolutely no reason to believe that this administration would see this type of waste on a local government level and look the other way. However, if Lt. Governor Duffy decides that Steve Hyde is worth every penny (and we all know he's not) I'll feel betrayed. I'm not speaking for every Democrat in Genesee County here, just for myself, but I have smelled more than enough bulls**t coming out of the GCEDC and I'll be damned if I'll watch this issue die off because nobody wants to ruffle feathers.
I think it’s a bit ironic
I think it’s a bit ironic that Mr. Hyde thinks that New York’s regulatory environment is a big problem, because those in that environment, seem to think that IDA’s are a big problem.
In a 2006 report titled: Industrial Development Agencies in New York State: Background,Issues and Recommendations
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/research/idabackground.pdf
State Comptroller Alan Hevesi stated:
“The overall effectiveness of IDA programs has been the subject of a number of studies, reports and audits. Despite the enactment of reforms in the late 1980s and early 1990s, issues regarding IDA operations, accountability and transparency persist”.
In the 2008 Annual Performance Report on New York State’s Industrial Development Agencies
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/research/idareport2010.pdf
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli noted:
“As New York emerges from the Great Recession and seeks to rebuild its economy, it is critical that IDAs provide accurate, consistent and transparent analysis of job creation and retention so that the costs and benefits of IDA tax expenditures can be adequately justified, and decision makers can properly evaluate how to best invest taxpayer resources.”
A 2008 report titled: Performance of Industrial Development Agencies
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/research/idareport08.pdf
Comptroller DiNapoli issued the following recommendation:
“The Comptroller is requesting that the Governor, through existing statutory oversight powers of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) and the Authority Budget
Office(ABO),increase his programmatic oversight of IDAs, particularly in the areas of job and wage verification.”
Industrial Development Agencies are public benefit corporations originally authorized by the Industrial Development Agency Act of 1969 and governed by the provisions of Article 18-A of the General Municipal Law.
According to the authorizing statute, the purpose of an IDA is to promote, develop, encourage and assist in acquiring, constructing, improving, maintaining or equipping certain facilities, thereby advancing the job opportunities, health, general prosperity and the economic welfare of the people of New York
While the nature and scope of the program has evolved considerably since it’s inception, fundamental flaws persist.
The lack of evidence of success and lack of adequate procedures to evaluate effectiveness like:
*reliable job creation data
*cost per job data
*amount of forgone tax revenue - what is it costing taxpayers for you to continue to operate
*total program cost to the taxpayers
*total benefits to the community
If the GCEDC is unable to assess the success of their programs in a comprehensive manner, how can they expect the public to continue to support them?
Economic development programs haven’t worked at the federal level, the state level, the regional level and it’s not working at the local level. With all of the billions of dollars being poured into economic development, you’d think there would be some noticeable improvement. Instead, all we get are promises that jobs are in the “pipeline” and undeveloped fields of dreams.
The emphasis of economic development has shifted and has become focused on the welfare and prosperity of business development rather than community and human development.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the only business that seems to be booming in this economy is the economic development agency business. And why wouldn’t they be? They operate totally tax-free. Government at every level loves to give them money. They (a volunteer board) have the constitutional authority to exercise the power of eminent domain, so no property is out of reach. They can issue conduit debt without voter approval. They aren’t elected, so they don’t have to worry about re-election and they operate with virtually no oversight and no competition.
If Mr. Hyde thinks the regulatory environment is harsh...he should try living in the real world.
As far as the issue of paying prevailing wages for the Med Tech Center, Mr. Hyde said:
A "making it up on the fly" attitude among mid-level bureaucrats helps to chase business away from the state and makes it harder for Genesee Economic Development to operate.
Read the Department of Labor opinion for yourself.
http://www.labor.ny.gov/sites/legal/counsel/pdf/02-PUBLIC%20WORK/RO-10-…
It sounds to me like it is firmly based on statute and case law. But what do I know - I’m just a cook - that’s even lower than a mid-level bureaucrat!
I have to agree with Chris'
I have to agree with Chris' take on Mr. Hyde as well.... I remember when we all became disenchanted with GCEDC when we heard about the bonuses and pay they were getting.
Where was all this data and complaints then? It seems to have mysteriously materialized now that they have their hands out for our tax monies. Just a few weeks ago all they were releasing to the press was how great they were and how successful they have been according to some dubious publications....
As the Old 90's song went, "Things that make you go Hmmmmmm...."
By the way to make it easier
By the way to make it easier on those who like to look up videos on youtube, the group was C&C Music Factory :)
Kyle...mysteriously
Kyle...mysteriously materialized? Your kidding...right?
http://thebatavian.com/howard-owens/gcedc-releases-consultants-salary-s…
http://thebatavian.com/bob-harker/gcedc-and-hotels-windows/24274#commen…
http://thebatavian.com/bob-harker/gcedc-and-hotels-windows/24274#commen…
Here's an interesting related
Here's an interesting related article from the New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/08/us/08states.html?hp
Joanne Yes I was being
Joanne Yes I was being sarcastic, however the complaints and data I was referring to was the stuff Mr. Hyde was speaking of. (In sarcastic tone of voice....) You know where he tells us how hard they are working when mid level beaurocrats are making their live difficult and yada yada yada.
No they seem to let our (the taxpayers) complaints roll right off their backs, as if we aren't significant enough to be concerned about.
Sorry for the mis-communication :)