Arc of Seneca Cayuga receives $5,000 from Community Bank for expansion

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WATERLOO — Arc of Seneca Cayuga announced it has received a $5,000 donation from Community Bank, N.A. of Waterloo. The money will be used toward the agency’s major expansion and renovation of its work facility at 1885 Danaren Drive in Waterloo, which houses the agency’s Finger Lakes Textiles (FLT) division. The Arc has now raised […]

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The Arc has now raised $700,000 of the $915,000 cost of this project and says it is in the process of reaching out to numerous foundations, businesses, and individuals for additional financial support.

The $5,000 check presentation was made by Alexis Spina, Community Bank’s Waterloo branch manager, and Jim Vedora, a commercial banking officer in Community Bank’s Geneva office.

“We have many challenges, but the decreasing support from both state and federal governments is the biggest challenge we face. FLT is our most viable option to become financially sustainable. We’re very pleased that Community Bank, N.A. believes in our ability to do just that,” Arc Executive Director Allen Connely said in a news release.

Last year, FLT produced more than 1 million pieces of headwear, most of which fulfilled contracts with the U.S. military, the Arc said. The agency says that the surpluses generated by FLT operations are the primary reason it has been “able to stay in the black, despite major government funding cuts.” The Arc’s strategic plan aims to build on this success and greatly increase these surpluses.

“Everyone at Community Bank, N.A., is excited to be involved in this project that will increase income for Arc and preserve more than 60 jobs for people with developmental disabilities,” Spina said in the release.

Expansion plan

Step one of the Arc’s plan calls for adding 4,500 square feet to the FLT building, increasing work space by 50 percent. Step two involves using the additional space created by the expansion for a “state–of-the-art, automatic computer-driven, fabric-cutting system,” enabling the Arc to cut its own fabric and save $200,000 a year, the release stated.

Step three will move the tagging, bagging, and shipping part of the operation to Arc’s facility at 180 North St. in Auburn, preserving jobs at that site, while increasing production at the Waterloo facility. ν

HR Challenges: 2017 Year In Review

Business Mentors, Subscriber Only

My team and I were recently reviewing all the work we handled in 2017. It’s an exercise we do annually and use it to prepare for the new year. I compared our work with a list provided by the Society of Human Resources. Wow. Prior years have been active, but 2017 takes the cake. Nearly

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Wow. Prior years have been active, but 2017 takes the cake. Nearly every month presented a change or challenge that required some type of response from the human resources (HR) side of running a business. Many changes required guidance from our labor-attorney friends. Yet to implement those changes, most solutions required the skills, knowledge, and abilities found with a team of HR experts.

Here is the list of 2017 changes that affected human resources in chronological order:

• Federal and state minimum wage and salary basis changes that caused wage compression issues

• Women’s’ march — time out of work and increased awareness of inequities at work

• Travel ban — the shock and confusion caused and the impact on international companies

• Immigration marches in support of successful immigrant businesses — more time out of work

• Hacking and cyber security issues — personal and employment data being stolen

• Natural disasters — HR’s role in helping workers and developing disaster recovery plans

• Active shooters — HR’s role addressing trauma and developing an emergency response plan

• Transgender issues and arguments surrounding the bathrooms

• The federal government targeting illegal immigrants while at the same time capping the ability to legally get a visa

• Hate groups poisoning the workplace — increase in workplace conflicts

• ACA repeal fails but then certain parts get repealed — what do you communicate?

• New tax rules on both federal and state level impacting legal and illegal payroll deductions

• Ban the box in hiring

• Pay-equity issues and interviewing compliance

• OSHA reporting changes — on, off, on again?

• Overtime rules changing — on, off on again?

• Medical marijuana and workplace issues

• aid family leave — need for automation, tracking absences, abuse, and compliance

• Labor shortages and re-educating the unemployed/underemployed

• Me-too phenomenon and the increase in sexual-harassment complaints

• Greater need for harassment training, complaint procedures, and retaliation issues

• Greater need for interview investigations

• Social-media guidelines lessened or not

• ADA rulings impacting return to work compliance

• DACA workers — possible replacements needed

• Travel bans and changes in even inter-state travel

• I-9 changes

• New visa rules when hiring foreign nationals

• Back to the future — adjusting to the new year’s minimum wage and salary basis tests

All of this would make most people’s heads spin. The need for the right HR skill, knowledge, and ability is greater than ever. For the business owner who is taking on these issues by themselves, I ask the following questions:

• Has your company effectively responded to all the changes?

• Do you know which changes apply to your company?

• Are you aware of the impact these challenges are having on your business/revenue/workers?

• What have you sacrificed to stay on top of these changes?

• What opportunities were missed to increase business or improve products and services while dealing with these changes?

• Do you think your internal staff is knowledgeable or experienced enough to handle these issues?

• Do you think it’s wise to continue to use administrative or financial staff to keep up with this stuff?

• Are you just receiving information on changes as they occur yet still lack the expertise to implement them?

In times of extreme change and stress, only the strong survive. A strong HR delivery system is more needed than ever.

In 2018, we anticipate no shortage of challenges resulting from laws and guidelines being revised, eliminated, or newly created. These are turbulent times, and everyone will need an “all hands-on deck” approach to keeping ahead of it all. And you don’t have to face these challenges alone. There are so many smart ways to approach business problems, and leveraging the use of experts is a good one.

Rose Miller, SPHR is an HR consultant and the president of Pinnacle Human Resources LLC. Contact her at rmiller@pinnaclehrllc.com or John M. Davis, business development manager, at jdavis@pinnaclehrllc.com.

Generations Bank adds Aikman to board of directors

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SENECA FALLS — Generations Bank announced that Cynthia Aikman of Auburn has joined its board of directors, effective Jan. 1. Aikman currently works as a business-development specialist and serves as a mentor and coach to area managers, CEOs, and organizations, Generations said in a news release. She also serves on the board of directors for

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How Could They All Be So Wrong?

Opinion, Subscriber Only

I came upon a Fortune Magazine investment guide for the upcoming year. It carried articles by and about various investment wizards. When it came to the stock market, the wizards said beware. Stocks are way too expensive, they told us. The market is likely to tank. Or make only modest gains. The headline for the

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I came upon a Fortune Magazine investment guide for the upcoming year.

It carried articles by and about various investment wizards.

When it came to the stock market, the wizards said beware. Stocks are way too expensive, they told us. The market is likely to tank. Or make only modest gains. The headline for the main article was “Trump — Why the Market is Stacked Against Him?”

When it came to the economy, the wizards told us it would probably stink. There were too many headwinds against it.

I read their predictions carefully. After all, these are top-shelf experts. They work for major Wall Street firms. Fortune rounded them up because they are among the best in their field.

I concentrated on their reasons. This trend is weak. That trend is strong. The Fed will do this. Inflation will do that. The workforce has these problems. History tells us times will be tough. The numbers on the economy tell the story. And the story is a sad one.

Their gloom pretty much convinced me. When it comes to stocks and the economy, the year ahead looks lousy.

As I got further into the articles, a few things sounded odd. This prompted me to flip back to the cover of the magazine. Where I discovered it was a year old. Fortune published it shortly after Trump’s election. What I was reading were predictions for 2017.

Wow. These experts got everything wrong. After all, the S&P 500 soared nearly 22 percent (with dividends reinvested) in 2017, and the NASDAQ jumped almost 30 percent.

Next, I Googled predictions from experts whom Yahoo Finance hosted — back in January 2017. Sixteen of them. They predicted virtually no growth in stocks for 2017.

If they were weather forecasters, they would have sent you sailing into the teeth of the last hurricane. If they were your doctors, you would be dead — or in pain from their many surgeries on you.

So, what went on here? How could these brilliant people be so wrong about predicting what would happen to the stock market in 2017?

Several ingredients at play here. Would you like to talk with an expert on the economy? Would you like to get close to an expert on stocks? Plonk your bottom on a barstool in your nearest tavern. Over a few nights, you will get a bellyful of predictions from experts.

Their wording won’t be fancy like the wording of the experts in Fortune. But they will be as accurate as those you find in big investment magazines. As accurate as Fortune’s wizards. As accurate as others, like Bloomberg Business online. As accurate as the guys on investment shows on TV.

The reality is that those experts don’t know what they are jabbering about. Or writing about. Their predictions are worthless. Fortune prints them because it needs to stick something between the ads.

The super reality is that nobody consistently predicts what the economy will do. Or what the stock market will do. Not the wizards in Fortune. Not the top government analysts. Not the tavern experts.

It’s not that they are stupid. The problem is that there is no way to predict such things accurately. Sorry.

One of the many reasons why the Fortune wizards were wrong is that they let their emotions color their thinking. Like many of their colleagues, they don’t like Trump. Maybe it’s his ties. Or his hair. Or his nasty tweets. Or his boasting. Or his arrogance. Bottom line: They don’t like him. To many folks in the Big Apple, Trump is a slob.

Nothing wrong with that. Unless you are in the prediction business. In this instance, the wizards’ prejudice pointed their noses in the wrong direction. Up.

Even if they were not prejudiced, there is a 50 percent chance they would be wrong about the market and the economy. That is just the way things are.

The big gain in the stock market that these gurus missed is equivalent to your guide taking you to Staten Island for the St. Patrick’s Day parade — which happens to occur in Manhattan.

The gurus also missed the healthy GDP figures on the economy throughout the year.

(By the way, their tips for individual stocks did well. Their attitude was that certain stocks might weather the storm the market was likely to suffer. The storm did not come. Instead the rising tide lifted most boats — including their stock picks.)

So, how do you suppose stocks will do in 2018? What do you predict our GDP and employment figures will be? Don’t be meek. Your guess is as good as mine. As good as those of some of the top guys on Wall Street. As good as those of the Gurus Maximus of government.

You know as much as they do. Whether you occupy a barstool or an easy chair.

From Tom…as in Morgan.

Tom Morgan writes about political, financial, and other subjects from his home near Oneonta. You can write to Tom at tomasinmorgan@yahoo.com. You can read more of his writing at tomasinmorgan.com

Pathfinder Bancorp increases quarterly dividend

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OSWEGO — Pathfinder Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: PBHC), holding company for Pathfinder Bank, recently declared a quarterly cash dividend of 5.75 cents per share on its common stock for the fiscal quarter ending Dec. 31. That’s up from the 5.5 cents a share it paid in the previous quarter. It’s the third straight quarter in which

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Pinckney Hugo Group

People on the Move, Subscriber Only

Pinckney Hugo Group has hired ZACH ADAMS as director of brand insight, ALEX WALSH as a public relations account manager, and JANE SCHIRTZ as an assistant account manager. Adams previously worked as a senior research strategist and as a research analyst at a local research firm. He is also an adjunct professor at Syracuse University.

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MICHAEL H. INTAGLIETTA

People on the Move, Subscriber Only

The Landmark Theatre board of trustees has named MICHAEL H. INTAGLIETTA executive director of the Landmark Theatre in downtown Syracuse. He has been the general manager of the theatre since October 2015. Intaglietta brings extensive experience, including time as the administrative director for the Redhouse Arts Center and as a previous director of operations for

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JEFF PALERMO

People on the Move, Subscriber Only

Keystone Associates Architects, Engineers and Surveyors, LLC has hired JEFF PALERMO as a designer in its Civil Engineering Department. He has more than five years of experience in project design, project management, construction management, and building inspections. Palermo is a registered engineer intern (E.I.) and holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the West

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Barton & Loguidice

People on the Move, Subscriber Only

TAYLOR J. JENNINGS and BRIAN M. NICHOLSON of Barton & Loguidice have received their licenses as professional engineers in New York State and were recently promoted to project engineers. Jennings is a member of the firm’s Water/Wastewater Group. He is a graduate of Clarkson University and has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Nicholson is

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The Hayner Hoyt Corporation

People on the Move, Subscriber Only

The Hayner Hoyt Corporation has hired STEPHEN (STU) CAVUTOAS its new director of safety. After 31 years with the Syracuse Fire Department, he has extensive experience with making safe conditions out of unsafe places. As the former deputy chief, Cavutoas was in charge of fire prevention, public education, new construction, and unsafe buildings. He learned

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