Paterson, WNY officials talk development - Memphis Business Journal:

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Paterson came to the Clarence headquartera Wednesday afternoon to rally support forhis “Bolcd Steps to the New Economy” initiative. Greatbatch, whicnh recently expanded in Clarence after considering options elsewhere is the posted child for the economic development agendsa Patersonis pushing. He held similar roundtable discussions earlier this week in Albanyand Syracuse. Paterson met with 21 locak leaders and executives ranging from University at Buffaloi President John Simpson and Erie County Executivde Chris Collins toMark Dettner, managinvg director and founder. “I came here toda to listen as muchas talk,” Patersonj said.
Paterson’s appearance came againstt the backdrop of political firestorm in Albany with a battle for political control of the New YorkState Paterson, during his hour-long roundtablee meeting with the executives stayed focusedd on economic development issues. Politics, however, did servr as a background. “There is a time to addressw these issues,” Paterson told reporters aftefrthe meeting. “I’m not sure why we are just hearinv about thisproblem now.” who has run or starteds a dozen local companies, said politicx does impact how the businesse community views the Patersonh government.
“Unless you remove the stigma of New York beingthe highest-taxed state, all the spinoff jobs you want to creatd with this program will end up in othed states,” the county executive “Tom Golisano is simply the tip of the Golisano, in late May, renounce his New York residency and made Florida his official home because of New York’ s heavy tax burden on upper classe citizens. Golisano, the Rochester-based billionaire, said the move will save him morethan $5 millionn annually in state income taxes. Collins said the high cost of state-ruh programs such as Medicare contribute toNew York’s taxinh structure.
Out-of-date, union-friendly mandatesx like the Taylor Law, which offers certaim guarantees forunion workers, add to the tax “We don’t want to see the innovationx created here but the jobs they creatr go to Texas,” Collins said. Paterson agreesx New York has to “cut its infectioues ways of spending.” State programes are leading to aprojected $24 billionh deficit this year. Paterson, through the also heard repeated pleas tosupport UB’s 2020 plan that many see as a linchpimn to the region’s economic revival.
The UB plan calls for significanf investment in its Buffalol and Amherst campuses while increasing its presencs indowntown Buffalo’s Buffalo Niagar Medical Campus. Simpson said UB 2020 representsd a potentialof $3 billion in new investment in the region whil e creating 10,000 new The catch is, the initiative needd significant state legislative and financial support. “We need to get UB 2020 out of thestartinh block,” said Thomas Greatbatch president and chief executive Hook credited a closew alliance with UB as the source of the many patents and medicak industry products that Greatbatch has created during the past five decades.
“AA lot of the success Greatbatch enjoyer has come from innovations that startedfrom UB,” Hook