Sen. Mike Ranzenhofer met with a group of business leaders at GCC this morning to provide an update on the recently completed legislative session in Albany and get feedback on issues of concern to local business.
Ranzenhofer opened with a talk highlighting the on-time budget that closed a $10 billion deficit with no tax increases and the first reduction in state spending in 15 years.
When the discussion opened, participants raised issues about the number of school districts in Genesee County, tourism grants, as well as Albany's seemingly less hostile attitude toward business and services provided by local government.
Jim Fulmer, CEO of the Bank of Castile and a former Le Roy School Board trustee, expressed concern about duplicative administrative services in the county's nine school districts.
"At some point, somebody will need to absolutely need to take a hold of this issue and deal with it," Fulmer said. "This has the potential to make some fundamental change in our tax structure."
Ranzenhofer said the governor and Senate are absolutely committed to making such fundamental changes in the structure of local governance.
Jeff Boshart, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce board and president of Boshart Enterprises, asked whether the state would continue to fund grants for promotion of tourism in the county, which he said is essential to attracting visitors from all over the region.
A year ago, when the grants were not funded, Ranzenhofer said it wasn't because the money wasn't available, rather it was spent on other priorities, adding, "priorities I didn't vote for or support."
He said the money would continue to be available so long as the legislature made it a priority.
In a statement that seemed to allude to the recent controversy in Le Roy over the fate of that community's public pool, Jerry McCullough (pictured, inset), representing the Le Roy Business Council, the Rotary Club and his own business, expressed concern about local governments using the recently approved property tax cap as an excuse to cut services.
"They're hiding behind the tax cap and cutting things that young families would enjoy," McCullough said. "They're cutting things that would bring young families to our community and help our business community. We're left with a lot of nothing and it's still costing us the same amount of money."
Ranzenhofer said as a person who owns a business located in a village, he understands the importance of village services that improve the business environment.
"I’ve seen first hand what a beautification project will do, what a sidewalk project will do, what a facade project will do, what a light project will do," the senator said. "I think these projects help improve the business climate."
Whether state grants are made available to help with such projects, Ranzenhofer said, depends on what priorities the governor and legislature set in future budgets.
Also attending were: Craig Alexander, O-AT-KA Milk; Allan Davis, Liberty Pumps; Jerry Kozowski, BEST Center; Rachael Tabelski (formerly Millspaugh), GCEDC; Steve Hyde, GCEDC; and Katie White, Le Roy Business Council.
