NORWICH – Just one week away from hearing if they’ll profit from a $500 million spurt in economic development, local governmental and business leaders sat down with Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul on Wednesday to illustrate a blueprint of what some of that funding could do for Chenango County.
Lt. Gov. Hochul held roundtable discussions with a number of business representatives in Norwich on Wednesday. Issues focused heavily on the business needs of the community, including workforce development and easing the tax burden for local businesses.
Hochul said that while she’s not a decision-maker in the process to determine winners of the half billion dollars of Upstate Revitalization Initiative funds, her visit gave her a better pulse of what’s happening in the area – and she can take that message back to the State Regional Economic Development Council.
The Souther Tier is one of eight regions competing for one of three top prizes in the 2015 round of URI funds. Hochul pointed out that the Southern Tier has done well in the previous four rounds of the URI competition, collecting more than $300 million for numerous projects throughout the eight counties that make up the region.
Winners of the fifth round of URI funds will be announced next Thursday.
In addition to spotlighting the needs of area businesses, Wednesday’s conversation also detailed the boon a URI would have on the local economy.
“There’s a lot of excitement about the announcement next Thursday, when three of the seven economic development regions will find out if they’re one of the winners of the top award for upstate revitalization funds,” Hochul said.
Hochul also noted that more funding has been added to the Upstate Revitalization Initiative this year than previous years. “There’s a lot more money in the pot overall; so even for the regions that are not going to be successful and will not recover some of the $500 million, there’s a lot more money available ... The people who do not come out on top will actually see more funding than last year’s winners,” she said.
