Personal income per capita increased in all 16 Central New York counties last year, according to new statistics on personal-income growth by county. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) issued the report on Nov. 16.

The BEA defines personal income as “the income that is available to persons for consumption expenditures, taxes, interest payments, transfer payments to governments and the rest of the world, or for saving,” and per capita personal income as the personal income of an area divided by the area’s population.

Eight Central New York counties matched or exceeded the statewide average of 1.8 percent personal-income growth. Another two counties met or exceeded the 1.6 percent national rate. 

Tioga County generated the highest growth rate, rising 2.3 percent, while Tompkins County grew the least, at 0.1 percent. 

While the region fared well in terms of growth rate, the per capita personal income averages across all Central New York counties were well below the national figure of $49,246 and the statewide average of $59,563. Onondaga County had the highest personal income per capita in the region with $47,865, while St. Lawrence County’s figure of $34,364 was the lowest in the area.

Nationally, personal income per capita grew in 2,285 counties, fell in 795, and was unchanged in 33. Growth rates ranged from -40.8 percent in Kenedy County, Texas to 27.1 percent in Tillman County, Oklahoma. Per capita personal income averages ranged from $16,267 in Wheeler County, Georgia to $199,635 in Teton County, Wyoming.

HERKIMER — Kevin Crosley, president and CEO of Arc Herkimer, was honored with the Outstanding Professional Achievement Award from the National Council of Executives (NCE) of The Arc of the United States. 

He received the honor at the NCE awards luncheon at the annual national convention on Nov. 2 in San Diego, California.

 The award recognizes NCE members who live by the “core values of The Arc by providing leadership resulting in outstanding achievement and a significant improvement in supports and services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families,” according to an Arc Herkimer news release. 

“I am humbled and deeply honored to receive this award on behalf of the 700 people with disabilities and nearly 400 incredible staff at Arc Herkimer,” Crosley said in the release. “It is a true honor to be recognized by your peers in the industry and I couldn’t be more proud of the outstanding supports and services we provide for our families in Herkimer County. We have now placed Arc Herkimer on the national map and should be very proud of that accomplishment.”

NCE is a peer membership organization of leaders from The Arc’s network of nearly 700 chapters. 

UTICA — Allied American Abstract Corp. was set to formally open its new downtown Utica office on Nov. 30 with a ribbon-cutting event with the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce. 

The company recently moved to the Clark City Center at 181 Genesee St., Suite 602.

Allied American Abstract handles title searches, title examinations, issues title commitments, arranges for closing services, and issues title insurance. Its customers include attorneys, consumers, realtors, and lenders in Central New York.

The company also has locations in Onondaga, Madison, Chenango, and Herkimer County, according to its website. Allied American Abstract’s president is Mike Gigliotti.

DeWITT — Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU) announced that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 34 cents a share on its common stock. It will be payable on Jan. 10, to shareholders of record as of Dec. 15. 

The dividend is the same amount that Community Bank paid last quarter, when it boosted the quarterly payment by 2 cents a share. The DeWitt–based banking company has hiked its dividend for 25 straight years.

The dividend represents an annualized yield of about 2.6 percent, based on the company’s current stock price. 

Community Bank System operates more than 230 branches across upstate New York, Northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Massachusetts through its banking subsidiary, Community Bank, N.A. It has total assets of about $10.8 billion, ranking it among the nation’s 150 largest financial institutions. 

SYRACUSE — The 16 semifinalists in the second round of the Genius NY program are working on video presentations explaining why their company would be the “best fit” for Genius NY.

A panel of local judges will review the presentations and select the six finalists participating in Genius NY 2.0. 

CenterState CEO should announce the six finalists for Genius NY in late December.

Genius NY, a business-accelerator program at CenterState CEO’s Syracuse Technology Garden, on Nov. 16 announced the 16 semifinalists in the competition’s second round. 

Genius NY stands for Growing ENtrepreneurs & Innovators in UpState New York.

The companies, which are developing innovations in the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) industry, were selected from a highly competitive pool of more than 250 submissions to compete for $3 million in investments. 

Of the 16 semifinalists, three teams represent Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Additionally, women co-founded three teams chosen as semifinalists, according to CenterState CEO.

“We are excited to welcome these forward-thinking entrepreneurs to Central New York for round two of the Genius NY competition,” Howard Zemsky, president, CEO & commissioner of Empire State Development, said in a CenterState CEO news release. “This unique contest supports UAS startups in developing the next-generation technologies that are helping Central New York, and its burgeoning drone industry, to rise.”

The semifinalists are:

• AgriSense, which is headquartered in the Finger Lakes region, according to its website.

• AndroMeta-X, which CenterState CEO lists as a New York company

• Quantifly, a New York company

• Kairos Weather Corporation, from New York

• SkyTubeLive, a New York company

• Syracuse University applicant (new company)

• Dropcopter, California

• Dronetechuav, Texas

• Fovea Aero Systems LLC, New Jersey

• Kinaptic, Maine

• Precision Vision, New Mexico

• USDRobotics, Florida

• Systems Technology Solutions, New Mexico

• OneSky, Switzerland

• Fotokite, Switzerland

• BioCarbon Engineering, United Kingdom

Growing in CNY

The competition’s judges will be looking for companies that will stay in the Central New York region and utilize the ecosystem, will scale and be successful, and represent diversity of technology focus and team makeup.

“The teams we have selected represent the very best of an incredibly competitive application pool,” Rick Clonan, VP of innovation and entrepreneurship at CenterState CEO, said in the release. “These high-quality teams will benefit from the success of the program’s first round and will have the necessary resources to accelerate the growth of their businesses while contributing to the region’s leading expertise and advancement of the UAS industry.”

The program, which is funded by Empire State Development in a model similar to Buffalo’s 43North program, will invest more than $3 million in six companies over the course of the year-long competition, “making it the largest business accelerator competition for the UAS industry in the world,” CenterState CEO said. 

The advancement of the Genius NY program builds on the progress of CNY Rising, the region’s award-winning “strategic plan to generate robust economic growth and community development.”

CenterState CEO will announce the grand prizes during an event in April, where teams will compete live by pitching their technologies to a panel of judges. The program will award three grand-prize investments, including $1 million, $600,000, and $400,000. 

The remaining runner-up teams will each receive a $250,000 investment.          

Hotels in Onondaga County generated a slight increase in overnight guests in October than in the year-ago month, according to a new report.

The hotel occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the county increased 1.6 percent to 64.2 percent in October from 63.2 percent a year prior, according to STR, a Tennessee–based hotel market data and analytics company. Year to date, Onondaga County’s occupancy rate is down 3.7 percent to 58.5 percent.

Revenue per available room (RevPar), a key industry gauge that measures how much money hotels are bringing in per available room, rose 1.7 percent to $68.90 this October from $67.73 in October 2016. Year to date, Onondaga County’s RevPar is down 3.9 percent to $59.73.

Average daily rate (or ADR), which represents the average rental rate for a sold room, edged up 0.2 percent to $107.37 in October, compared to $107.19 a year earlier. Year to date, Onondaga County’s ADR is off 0.2 percent to $102.17, according to STR.   

BINGHAMTON — U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) is co-sponsoring a bipartisan bill that would direct federal funding to high-tech training and education programs in high schools and institutions of higher learning.

The Democrat contends it would give more students the opportunity to learn the skills “necessary” to obtain good-paying jobs in the high-tech manufacturing sector. 

The bill is known as the “21st century strengthening hands on programs that cultivate learning approaches for successful students act,” also known as the Shop Class Act. 

U.S. Senator Todd Young (R–Ind.) is a cosponsor of this bill, according to Gillibrand’s office. 

U.S. Representatives Tim Ryan (D–Ohio), Steve Stivers (R–Ohio), Mark Takano (D–Calif.), and Susan Brooks (R–Ind.) introduced a version of the bill in the House of Representatives as well.

Gillibrand discussed the legislation during a Nov. 20 visit to the Broome–Tioga BOCES in Binghamton.

Technologies like three-dimensional (3D) printers, laser cutters, and computerized machine tools are “increasing the need” for specialized training for manufacturing jobs. 

To prepare students with the skills needed for high-tech jobs, the legislation would amend the Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) Act to give “greater priority” to funding maker education, the development of maker spaces, and training for teachers in the application of maker education, according to Gillibrand.

“Many manufacturing companies in our state have job openings with good salaries, but they can’t fill them because too many workers haven’t had the opportunity to learn the skills they need to take on those jobs. We need to fix this,” Gillibrand said in a news release. “I’m proud to introduce new bipartisan legislation to make sure tech-ed classes are teaching students how to use the latest high-tech tools, like 3D printers, that manufacturing companies expect them to know how to use. Our students should be able to take many different paths in order to get a good job and earn a good salary, and this bill would help equip more students with the skills they need to get on a path toward good-paying high-tech jobs when they graduate high school.”

Providing students with access to equipment such as 3D printers and laser cutters is “critical,” according to James Mullins, assistant superintendent of Broome-Tioga BOCES.

“It is vitally important that students continue to learn on the latest state-of-the-art technologies, in order to be successful in the ever changing global business world. This will offer our students the skills necessary to prepare them for the high-demand career opportunities available,” he said in the Gillibrand release. 

CTE programs

Career and technical-education (CTE) programs at the high school and community-college level provide training and education for “in-demand, good-paying” jobs in industries ranging from manufacturing to health care to computer programming. 

Gillibrand’s release listed statistics indicating what the lawmaker contends is the “importance” of CTE programs.

CTE high school and post-secondary programs in New York had an estimated 377,000 students enrolled from 2015 to 2016. During this same period, more than 1,500 high-school students in Broome and Tioga counties participated in career and technical education. 

Technical-skill jobs that require a high-school diploma but not a four-year degree make up the “largest part” of the labor market and “close to almost half” of job openings in New York state through 2024, according to Gillibrand’s office.

The overall number of technical-skill jobs is expected to increase by an estimated 2,750 positions in the Southern Tier by 2022, the office added.

The investment in vocational education would give more students the technical skills needed for good-paying jobs, offering “hands-on learning experiences for students to use high-tech industrial tools to create and innovate,” per Gillibrand. The approach to technical education “will offer more opportunities to inspire the next generation” of manufacturing workers and entrepreneurs.