{"id":16133,"date":"2015-01-08T10:32:19","date_gmt":"2015-01-08T15:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/01\/sedc-sees-continued-saratoga-growth-warns-against-stagnant-development.html"},"modified":"2015-01-08T10:32:19","modified_gmt":"2015-01-08T15:32:19","slug":"sedc-sees-continued-saratoga-growth-warns-against-stagnant-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/01\/sedc-sees-continued-saratoga-growth-warns-against-stagnant-development\/","title":{"rendered":"SEDC Sees Continued Saratoga Growth, Warns Against Stagnant Development"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"dennisbrobston-hsc.jpg\"\n<\/div>\n
Dennis Brobston, president, Saratoga Economic Development Corp\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

BY DENNIS BROBSTON<\/p>\n

Forecasting is always difficult. No matter
\nwhat you say, you’re not going to get it quite
\nright. The good thing about forecasting is
\nyou’re not alone. This time of year always
\nbrings interest about next year’s opportunities.<\/p>\n

I’d like to remind you about Saratoga Economic
\nDevelopment Corporation’s mission.
\nSEDC’s mission is to create jobs and diversify
\nthe tax base while improving the quality of
\nlife for the residents of Saratoga County.<\/p>\n

We accomplish this through the retention
\nof existing business, attraction of new industry
\nand improving our product – Saratoga
\nCounty.<\/p>\n

As the first point of contact for economic
\ndevelopment in the county, our focus on
\nmanufacturing, distribution, corporate headquarters,
\nenergy, technology and large office
\nprojects has created over 17,000 direct jobs
\nand over $11 billion investment in our 36 year
\nhistory. We’ve been able to do this because of
\npartners that believe economic development
\ndone by a private group is essential to deal
\nwith the confidential matters of business
\ngrowth. I’d like to thank those partners and
\nour members for their support.<\/p>\n

John Naisbitt, a well-known author, educator
\nand businessman believes “the most
\nreliable way to forecast the future is to try to
\nunderstand the present.” I can put my arms
\naround that and feel that I understand it. So
\nthis forecast for 2015 will be about the present
\nand how we need to adapt to make the
\nfuture bright.<\/p>\n

Saratoga County continues to grow in
\npopulation and business investment due to
\na number of factors. They include low taxes, developable land, good business climate, low
\ncrime rate and good schools.<\/p>\n

There are other reasons but these stand
\nout as we get feedback from site selectors
\nand relocating families. For Saratoga County
\nto sustain this growth, we must pay attention
\nto some pitfalls that can trap us and bring
\nus down.<\/p>\n

Anytime you have growth, whether in housing
\nor commercial\/industrial development,
\npeople get nervous. They become afraid because
\nthe world is changing and their town,
\ncity or neighborhood is in the path of change.<\/p>\n

In many instances, we have heard people say
\nno to new development simply because they
\nhave a “not in my backyard” mentality.
\nThe acronym is NIMBY. As Saratoga County
\ncontinues to grow, this attitude may grow
\nas well.<\/p>\n

I mentioned a number of factors that
\nhave allowed Saratoga County’s growth to
\ncontinue. I would like to discuss three of
\nthose in greater detail.<\/p>\n

First, low taxes. Saratoga County has the
\nlowest county tax in the state of New York.
\nThere are many towns here that also do not
\nhave a town tax. Although the recession of
\n2009 caused difficulty in their budgeting
\nprocesses, the municipalities have been
\nsuccessful in their efforts to rein-in spending,
\nthereby keeping taxes under control.<\/p>\n

As long as the global economy continues to
\ngrow, Saratoga County will continue to have
\nlow taxes.<\/p>\n

Many of us wish our school taxes would be
\nlower, but we understand that is a much more
\ndifficult situation. The way New York state
\nfunds education will be difficult to change
\nand politically challenging to our elected
\nofficials. More than likely, the school tax
\nformula will not vary much in the near future.<\/p>\n

Many companies coming to us looking for
\na site to locate are surprised by the cost of
\neducation here. As a result, those companies
\nexpect incentive programs to offset the
\nhigher school taxes in our state compared
\nto other states. Our industrial development
\nagencies are a vital tool in leveling the playing
\nfield between our sites and those outside
\nour state.<\/p>\n

Another factor is availability of developable
\nland. As Saratoga County grew, most
\nof the easy-to-develop parcels were utilized
\nfor growth. We have fewer zoned acres in
\nthe industrial\/manufacturing classification
\nthan what is required for sustainable growth.<\/p>\n

For growth in 2015 and beyond to occur, our
\nmunicipalities must consider expanding their
\nportfolio of zoned properties for businesses.
\nNewly zoned land will also need planning
\nfor roads, electricity, natural gas, water,
\nsewer, communications and other required
\nitems for these lands to be marketable. It is
\nvitally important that our municipalities partner
\nwith land owners, economic development
\ngroups, government agencies and any other
\npossible collaborators to prepare for growth
\nto take place. Just zoning property will not
\nmake us marketable.<\/p>\n

Once we know what the infrastructure
\nneeds are for our newly zoned sites, a plan
\nto install and pay for the infrastructure is
\nnecessary.<\/p>\n

Saratoga County created a water authority
\nthat allowed GlobalFoundries in Malta to be
\nconfident adequate water supply would be
\navailable for their manufacturing processes.
\nWithout that water, GlobalFoundries would
\nnot be here. Together we need to plan how
\nto expand infrastructure so we can continue
\nto take advantage of business growth in the
\nnear future.<\/p>\n

The third to discuss is a good business
\nclimate. Many things determine what a good
\nbusiness climate consists of. It is always
\nimportant that a municipality communicates
\nits desire for business growth to take
\nplace. That being said, it is also important
\nthat communities understand how they are
\nperceived by the construction and land development
\nbusinesses they deal with.<\/p>\n

We have municipalities that do a great job
\nin working with developers, contractors and
\nconstruction people. Their staff understands
\nthat time is money and getting through
\napproval processes quickly and efficiently
\nis best for all sides. However, we do have
\nmunicipalities that are struggling in these
\nareas. Long approval processes, inadequate
\nstaffing, unreasonable fees and even poor customer
\nservice will quickly erode the ability to
\nattract and retain companies. We encourage
\nour elected officials to critique their building
\nand planning departments in order to better
\nserve the public in the business community.<\/p>\n

Saratoga County will continue to prosper
\nif we consider these factors. Growing our tax
\nbase as well as our population will enable us
\nto afford the necessary requirements for a
\ngood quality of life. We must remember that a
\nstagnant economy, or stagnant development,
\nwill deter financial growth required for a
\nsustainable future. SEDC will focus on these
\nissues along with our members and partners
\nso 2015 and beyond will have the potential
\nfor growth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dennis Brobston, president, Saratoga Economic Development Corp BY DENNIS BROBSTON Forecasting is always difficult. No matter what you say, you’re not going to get it quite right. The good thing about forecasting is you’re not alone. This time of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":16966,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[57,113],"class_list":["post-16133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","tag-business-news","tag-saratoga-county"],"yoast_head":"\r\nSEDC Sees Continued Saratoga Growth, Warns Against Stagnant Development - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/01\/sedc-sees-continued-saratoga-growth-warns-against-stagnant-development\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SEDC Sees Continued Saratoga Growth, Warns Against Stagnant Development - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dennis Brobston, president, Saratoga Economic Development Corp BY DENNIS BROBSTON Forecasting is always difficult. 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