Twenty-five Business Council of Westchester members traveled to Albany recently to lobby state officials on energy, economic development and health care issues affecting businesses in the state. A recent survey of Business Council members was their guide in setting the day”™s agenda in meetings with state lawmakers and department officials, said Business Council President and CEO Marsha Gordon.
In that late February survey, the second in a quarterly series conducted by the Business Council and DataKey Consulting in Mount Kisco, only 3 percent of approximately 200 businesses owners and executives responding said they currently are hiring. The number of companies reporting less job openings compared to the previous quarter was 14 times greater than in November. No large companies of 300 or more employees reported new hiring, noted Ted S. Miller, president of DataKey Consulting.
Compared to one year ago, companies”™ capital budgets are “still abysmal,” Miller found from the survey. While about one in five large companies said their capital spending budget was up from a year ago, less than 1 in 20 small and medium-sized companies said their capital budget had increased.
About 65 percent of surveyed businesses expect revenues to be down over the next six months compared to last year. By a 5 to 1 ratio, most businesses expect to make less profit for the same period. Large companies expect a profit decline by a 10 to 1 ratio, while small and mid-sized companies expecting a profit decline outnumber those anticipating profit growth by a 4 to 1 ratio.
“We”™re not seeing a lot of companies go out of business in Westchester but what we”™re seeing is a real squeeze on pricing,” said Miller.
Four out of five respondents said their confidence in their business has declined compared to a year ago. By a 6 to 1 ratio, most companies expect the performance of their industry to be down over the next six months compared to the last quarter of 2008.
While expecting less from their companies and business sectors, the business community”™s confidence in Westchester”™s economic condition “has remained the same or even grown a little bit,” Miller said. Asked how they expect Westchester to fare over the next six months relative to nearby counties in the tri-state area, 62 percent said they expect Westchester to do the same or better compared to three months ago; 55 percent expected the same or better performance from Westchester among tri-state counties compared to one year ago.
Guiding the Business Council”™s lobbyists in Albany, more than two-thirds of businesses owners surveyed chose taxes, health care and economic development and incentives as their top legislative issues. Business owners ranked employee compensation as their largest cost of doing business, followed by health care insurance and taxes.
Regarding the state”™s projected $13 billion budget deficit in fiscal year 2009, business owners said 75 percent of savings should come from spending cuts and 25 percent from increased taxes and fees. Most surveyed said they personally would be least opposed to increased taxes on alcohol and tobacco, while hikes in sales tax, estate tax and highway and bridge tolls were second choices for raising more state revenue.
Only 13 percent of respondents favored raising personal income and property taxes.
Survey respondents nearly unanimously favor consolidating local government services to reduce government spending. About four out of five business members approve of consolidating school boards as well as municipal sanitation and infrastructure maintenance departments.Consolidated police departments were favored by 58 percent of respondents, while only a minority, 44 percent, approved merging local fire departments. Only 35 percent of small businesses thought consolidating fire protection services was a good cost-saving measure.
State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo recently announced the start of his office”™s effort to reform antiquated state laws so as to make it easier for municipalities to eliminate or consolidate some of the approximately 10,500 taxing authorities and agencies in the state. Following their March 3 meeting with Cuomo”™s staff, Gordon said the Business Council will work closely with the attorney general”™s office on “a grass roots effort” at consolidation and legal changes to allow that.
The business group”™s lobbying included meetings with state Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, and Larry Schwartz, the former deputy Westchester County executive and recently appointed secretary to Gov. David A. Paterson.
“What we tried to get across is the uncompetitive environment that New Yorkers face here” in business, said Paul J. Vitale, Business Council vice president for government and community relations.
