Panel weighs in on economic, labor outlook for new administration

Calling the state”™s current economic climate a “perfect storm of unaffordability,” Empire State Development Corp.”™s new co-chairmen Patrick Foye and Dan Gunderson outlined several ideas to create a friendlier business environment in New York.
The two men, along with state Department of Labor Commissioner Patricia Smith, offered an update on how they”™re working to change the way their agencies do business during Albany”™s Small Business Day March 27.
They vowed to eliminate overlapping agencies, saying there are 28 separate branches in the Empire State Development Corp. (ESDC) that need to be streamlined to deliver better service to both existing and potential new businesses.
Foye said he and Gunderson are working to make sure they”™re on the same page and not duplicating efforts. A.T. Kearney is preparing a report on how the agency can make things work better for business at no charge to the state.
“The report will outline ways to streamline economic development for the state,” said Errol Cockfield, press secretary for New York Business Development Corp. (NYBDC).
“They are a willing partner in the process, and are looking at ways to help us improve management and operations and give us a framework of how to move forward.”
Kearney has been working on the report since mid-January and will release the findings sometime this month. “We have a new administration and new leadership here at the BDC,” Cockfield said. “This report will help us get our arms around management of this agency.”
Foye and Gunderson said they hope to develop a one-stop shopping approach at ESDC, helping to cut the mounds of red tape currently tangling businesses.
Specifically, a redesign of the agency”™s Web site will make it user friendly, promised Foye, saying the existing site is a jumble of confusion that leaves people calling the 800 number “and constantly getting a busy signal.”
Another area the pair plans to focus on is New York”™s tourism industry, which fuels more than 700,000 jobs statewide. “The governor”™s wife, Slida Wall Spitzer, recently hosted a reception to roll out our new ”˜I Love New York”™ tourism campaign. It”™s been around for 30 years, and now been totally revamped. We”™ll be hiring a chief marketing officer and adding a new agency. We think we can do a better job promoting tourism,” Foye said.

Gunderson, who is running the western portion and southern tier”™s eight regional offices, said part of the EDC”™s plan includes working with the Centers of Excellence established in the SUNY system. Gunderson toured his region with SUNY Chancellor John Ryan, who recommended the ESDC work closely with the state”™s university system to help grow technology.
Smith, the Department of Labor”™s new commissioner, talked about the recent changes to workers”™compensation. While they are going to help small-business owners, she said, more work needs to be done. She suggested creating a tracking system to see what types of injuries have the highest claims and medical costs. “We can work on creating programs that make the workplace safer and introduce preventative programs. Other states are doing this successfully ”¦ we also need to streamline the system where workers get medical care promptly.”
Labor law enforcement has been underutilized, Smith added. “It”™s time to do something about people who do not comply with labor laws and those who do.Â If we go after those who aren”™t playing by the rules, we can level the playing field for businesses that are complying.”
Like the ESDC, the Department of Labor plans to revamp its cumbersome Web site and rein in the 182 different funding streams that run through 18 different agencies under its umbrella.