Syracuse apartment redevelopment under way after regional council award

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SYRACUSE — Construction has started to redevelop the Roosevelt and Hillside Apartments in the city of Syracuse, according to the Central New York Regional Economic

Hardinge added to Russell 2000 Index

Manufacturing & Engineering

ELMIRA — Machine tool manufacturer Hardinge, Inc. (NASDAQ: HDNG) announced today the company’s stock was added to the Russell 2000 Index. The annual configuration of

State interest payments to vendors jumped 38 percent in 2011-2012

New York News

Vendors received more than $1.9 million in interest on late payments from New York State during the 2011-2012 fiscal year, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said today.

Only Government Could Pay $51.71 an Hour to Pick Up Debris

Opinion, Subscriber Only

As old and jaded as I am, government never fails to amaze me with its bureaucratic rigidity and disregard for the taxpayer. E.J. McMahon, of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, just highlighted yet another example of government waste and regulatory idiocy. Last summer, Poughkeepsie’s Fallkill Creek sustained damage from flooding caused by

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As old and jaded as I am, government never fails to amaze me with its bureaucratic rigidity and disregard for the taxpayer.

E.J. McMahon, of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, just highlighted yet another example of government waste and regulatory idiocy. Last summer, Poughkeepsie’s Fallkill Creek sustained damage from flooding caused by Hurricane Irene. Some might think that the proper course to clean up the debris would be to hire temporary workers and pay the state’s minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Government thinks otherwise.

The funds, courtesy of Uncle Sam, are channeled to youth employment through the state Department of Labor, which is bound to pay prevailing rates for public work according to the law. The Labor Department equates prevailing wages to wages earned by union members in the locality, a concept developed in the 1930s to keep Southern blacks from coming north to take jobs from whites at lower wages.

The prevailing hourly wage in the mid-Hudson region is $30.71, plus benefits of $21 an hour. The state Labor Department’s communications director, Leo Rosales, said that if the workers had been union members, the additional $21 would be paid for union dues and training. Since the temporary workers are not union members, the government is required to pay them the equivalent amount. According to the National Emergency Grant, the program funder, the premise is that “… wages must be paid at the higher of federal, state, or local minimum wage, or the comparable rates of pay for individuals employed in similar occupations by the same employer.”

Feel better now that you heard the explanation?

This is our government at work. Common sense says we could hire 1,000 young people at minimum wage and not only clean up the creek but also do it a lot faster and save taxpayers a bundle of money.

This is just the latest example of why “prevailing wage” law drives up our taxes and taxes our faith in government to offer services at a reasonable cost. Paying youth the equivalent of an annual six-figure salary to perform menial labor is both ludicrous and unnecessary since there are plenty of able-bodied workers who would fill the temporary positions for far less compensation.

Norman Poltenson is publisher of The Central New York Business Journal. Contact him at npoltenson@cnybj.com

Brown named new head of Falcone Center

SYRACUSE — The former chairman, CEO, and president of O’Brien & Gere has been named executive director of the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship at Syracuse

Newman Development selected for Binghamton parking-garage project

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Nonprofits, Regional News

BINGHAMTON — The city of Binghamton has selected Newman Development Group, LLC of Vestal as the preferred developer for the improvements on the Collier Street

Most CNY regional economic development council priority projects progressing as scheduled

Employee Benefits & Human Resources

All but two of the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council’s priority projects approved for funding last year in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s regional council

La Quinta Inn & Suites opens in Verona

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism

VERONA — La Quinta Inn & Suites, 5394 Willow Place, celebrated its grand opening June 21, bringing a new 97-room hotel to the Turning Stone

AICPA survey: Economic outlook among executives worsens

Law, Accounting & Taxes, Subscriber Only

Business executives are feeling worse about their 12-month outlook for the U.S. economy than they were earlier this year, according to a new survey from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The organization’s second-quarter Economic Outlook survey, released June 7, polled chief executive officers, chief financial officers, controllers and other certified public accountants

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The organization’s second-quarter Economic Outlook survey, released June 7, polled chief executive officers, chief financial officers, controllers and other certified public accountants in executive and senior management accounting roles. Most see better prospects for their own companies over the economy as a whole, according to AICPA.

However, the poll also found concerns about hiring have intensified since the start of the year.

”What we’re seeing is the same ‘two steps forward, one step back’ cycle we encountered last year,” Arleen Thomas, AICPA senior vice president for management accounting, said in a news release. “There’s no question survey takers have grown more pessimistic about the U.S. economy and with expectations muted for profit, revenue, and employment growth, there appear to be few catalysts to change that view.”

The survey’s outlook index, a gauge of overall executive sentiment, fell two points to 67 after two quarters of improvement. Numbers above 50 signal positive sentiment among executives.

Optimism about the national economy fell 9 percent in the second quarter with 34 percent of respondents saying they were optimistic or very optimistic about conditions in the U.S. But, 54 percent felt good about the prospects for their own organizations while 13 percent expressed pessimism.

Most respondents said their companies have the right number of employees, but 10 percent said their have too many workers, up from 7 percent in the previous quarter. The number who said they plan to hire soon dropped from 14 percent to 12 percent.

Top challenges listed by respondents were domestic economic conditions, regulatory challenges, and employee and benefit costs. Those three issues have topped the list of challenges among respondents for the past three quarters, according to AICPA.

The survey included 1,250 responses from accountants holding leadership positions in their companies.

Foundation for Accounting Education installs new president

Health Care, Law, Accounting & Taxes, Subscriber Only

The Foundation for Accounting Education announced its new President June 4. John Kearney, a shareholder of Jaeckle Kearney & Lepselter in Garden City, will serve for a one-year term. The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) created the foundation in 1972 as a continuing professional education resource for accountants and other financial

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The Foundation for Accounting Education announced its new President June 4.

John Kearney, a shareholder of Jaeckle Kearney & Lepselter in Garden City, will serve for a one-year term. The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) created the foundation in 1972 as a continuing professional education resource for accountants and other financial professionals in this state.

The foundation also announced three new trustees, who will serve for three-year terms. They include Patricia Johnson, an assistant professor at Canisius College; A. Rief Kanan, director of The Business Institute School of Business at the State University of New York at New Paltz; and Ronald G. Hegt, a tax partner at Crowe Harwath, LLP in New York City.

Johnson, re-elected as a foundation trustee, previously served as secretary. She joined the NYSSCPA in 1977 and is chairwoman of its Public Sector Oversight Committee and former chairwoman of the Higher Education Committee. She is a member of its Not-for-Profit and Anti-Money Laundering committees. She is also the new president of its Buffalo Chapter.

Kanan joined the NYSSCPA in 1992 and served as a member of its Professional Ethics, Mediation and Arbitration, Financial Accounting Standards and Auditing Standards committees. He was also vice president, treasurer, and a member of the executive board for the NYSSCPA Mid-Hudson Chapter and now serves as chairman of its Cooperation with Education Committee.

He was also a member of the foundation Campus Ambassador Committee and now serves as the Campus Liaison to the Society. He has also served as chairman of the Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) Advisory Board.

Hegt joined the NYSSCPA in 1978. He has served as chairman of its Taxation of Individuals Committee and as a member of its Tax Division Oversight, Professional Ethics, Closely Held & S Corporations, Relations with IRS and New York, Multistate and Local Taxation committees. He was honored by the foundation as Outstanding Discussion Leader of the Year.

Earlier in May, the NYSSCPA installed a Syracuse accountant as president for a one-year term.

Gail Kinsella, a partner at accounting firm Testone, Marshall & Discenza, LLP (TMD) of Syracuse, began her term May 10. K
Kinsella is a partner in TMD’s audit practice group and coordinates its quality control and peer review programs.

She has also served as president, vice president, and treasurer of the NYSSCPA’s Syracuse chapter. On the state level, she has served as a board member at large and as vice president for committees. She has also served as president of the board of trustees for the Foundation for Accounting Education.

TMD partner David Moynihan was president of the NYSSCPA from June 2009 to June 2010. Kinsella became president-elect of the state society a year ago. She is a graduate of Le Moyne College.

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