Carlucci Engages Small Business Owners at Roundtable

State Senator David Carlucci gathered with a group of local small business owners at 8 North Broadway in Nyack to speak about available programs and hear suggestions to help their businesses thrive.

The discussion ranged to touch on the East Ramapo School District and the proposed Desalination Plant in Haverstraw, but the primary focus was on small business needs. 

Carlucci said the timing is important heading into the legislative session, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's State of the State Address and his proposed budget all coming up soon.

"That's when a lot gets done," Carlucci said. "Last year, we had some major success int hat budget on things that were worked on here in Rockland County."

Carlucci pointed to repealing the MTA Payroll tax for many small businesses. He also took the opportunity to give a reminder about Jobs for Heroes, which takes effect Jan. 1, a program that would offer businesses a tax credit of up to $15,000 for hiring an unemployed veteran. The amount of credit is based on the salary of the veteran hired.The program was designed to address a 22 percent unemployment rate among veterans in New York State.

Diane Hoch, owner of the Food Evolution in Bardonia, suggested more online communication among within the Small Business Advisory group. Carlucci said he already had planned a more structured future meeting.

One primary concern raised was taxes. Constantine Kalandranis of 8 N. Broadway spoke about a lack of flexibility and clarity for taxpayers, giving the example of having it take six weeks to correct the error when he overpaid a tax bill. 

"My agenda for next year, I have a whole agenda for Affordable New York," Carlucci said. "How do we make New York more affordable for young families, for seniors and for businesses as well? One thing we can incorporate is when a small business or family is having a hard time paying their property taxes, what is something we can do about that?"

Carlucci spoke about consolidation as a way to reduce the tax burden, but also pointed to some complications. He said shared services are also a key component. 

"(You hear), we want that, but not our library or (our) school district," Carlucci said. "One idea we had, which has not been successful, is to set up procedures where municipalities can dissolve or merge together.

"The real trick here is these municipalities and taxing agencies are tough to dissolve."

Though the issue does not directly impact local small businesses and none of the participants live or work in East Rampao, the troubles of the East Ramapo School District became part of the discussion. Jim Burrill of Culligan of Rockland said the issues in that part of the county do have a trickle-down effect on the rest of Rockland. 

Peter Klose, an attorney and a member of the Nyack Planning Board, asked about the state taking over East Ramapo Schools. Carlucci said he was concerned that it would not completely solve the problem. He stressed the importance of transparency to create trust in the district, but he added that the state funding system for education does not take private school students into proper account, a key issue with approximately 22,000 of the 30,000 children in East Ramapo going to private schools.

"The problems go much deeper," Carlucci said "It's a structural problem. Even if every dime is accounted for, it's not a sustainable system."

Burrill said that many of the issues they discussed are handled by municipal governments. He asked that Carlucci help create a forum for small business owners to better be in contact with local officials. 

This report has been corrected to reflect the name of Hoch's business, which is the Food Evolution.