Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy said an announcement detailing the formation of 10 economic development councils statewide will come from Gov. Andrew Cuomo by mid- to late June.
Duffy told the Business Journal that of the 10 councils, Westchester would be included in the Hudson Valley regional council. He added that New York City would have its own council, as would Long Island. Duffy will serve as chairman of all 10 councils.
The day-to-day operations of each council would be managed by Empire State Development Corp., Duffy said. The councils will comprise representatives of business, labor, higher education, non-profits and the community, he said. Each council will act as a one-stop shop for all state-supported economic development and business assistance programs in each region.
“It is really about core capacities,” he said. “There is going to be project issues where there will be approval and push for certain funding streams, but I think equally important is going to be building these core capacities.”
Duffy, who spoke before a gathering of the New York State Association of Realtors at the organization”™s annual Lobby Day May 24, said work on the state budget took precedence over the formation of the economic development councils.
He praised the governor and Legislature for the deal announced that day on the property tax cap, but as a former mayor of Rochester, related that mandate relief is necessary.
“Mandate relief is going to be coming,” Duffy said. “The first issue is the property tax cap. Gov. Cuomo wanted to put a stake in the ground with the tax cap and then work on mandate relief.”
He said mandate relief is a “huge priority” for the Cuomo administration and that the Assembly and Senate must work diligently for any measure to pass before the end of the legislative session June 20.
