Members of the small-business community didn’t get their hopes up much at the end of the year.

The Small Business Optimism Index from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) rose half a point in December to 88. The move wasn’t enough to recover from a 5.6-point drop in November, and the index posted its second-lowest reading since March of 2010.

In December, the index remained grounded even as six out of its 10 components increased. Their gains were muted by three components that fell and another that didn’t change from the previous month.

Hiring plans played a big part in curtailing the overall measurement of optimism. They tumbled 4 points, leaving a net 1 percent of business owners who said they planned to hire in the next three months, seasonally adjusted. Meanwhile, hard-to-fill job openings remained essentially flat by dropping 1 point, resulting in a seasonally adjusted 16 percent of owners with positions for which they could find no qualified candidates.

Regular borrowers anticipated slightly worse credit conditions in the next three months, as the net percentage of borrowers predicting easier loans fell 1 point to -11. That component was joined in negative territory by the net percentage of business owners who said general business conditions would be better in six months. It didn’t change from November, staying below zero at -35 percent, seasonally adjusted.

Those negative readings show more business owners predicting worse conditions than better conditions, because the NFIB calculates net percentages by subtracting pessimistic survey responses from optimistic ones. Conversely, any above-zero net readings mean more business owners expressed positive feelings.

New York director’s comments

Brinkmanship over the federal fiscal cliff didn’t help small-business owners in December, says NFIB New York Director Mike Durant.

“We’ll see in the next optimism reading what impact it has, if it moves the needle at all,” he says. “I don’t know if there’s necessarily an end in sight. You’re going from one high-emotion, high-impact public-policy debate to another, because now you’ve got the debt ceiling coming up. It impacts these small businesses at an enormous level.”

Other survey findings

Sales expectations and earnings made the largest jumps among those optimism-index components that increased in December.

The net percentage of business owners predicting higher sales in the next three months swelled 3 points, but remained below zero at -2, seasonally adjusted. The net percentage of owners reporting higher earnings in the last three months compared to the prior three months also moved up 3 points to -29, seasonally adjusted.

Plans to make capital expenditures ticked 1 point higher. Seasonally adjusted, 20 percent of business owners relayed plans to make a capital expenditure in the next three to six months.

On a similar note, business owners were increasingly open to expansion. The portion viewing the next three months as a good time to expand climbed 2 points to 8 percent, seasonally adjusted.

Business owners indicated they were happy with their current inventory sizes, as the net percentage of owners calling their inventories too large crept up 2 points to 0, seasonally adjusted. Plans to increase inventories were scarce, with the seasonally adjusted net percentage of owners expecting to increase their inventories in three to six months inching up 1 point to -4, indicating owners actually planned cuts.

Poor sales fell out of a tie with taxes as the top problem most often cited by business owners. In December, 23 percent of owners said taxes were their single most important problem, followed by government requirements and red tape, named by 21 percent of owners. Poor sales slipped to third, with 19 percent of owners naming poor sales as their most important problem.

The NFIB, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. with members in all 50 states and DC, randomly surveyed 648 of its members in December to develop its national optimism index. It released the index for December on Jan. 8.

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com

A review of economic-development aid bound for Central New York under the second year of the state’s Regional Economic Development Council initiative shows projects ranging from worker training to facility expansions are in line for funding.

Central New York’s Regional Economic Development Council brought home $93.7 million for 73 projects in the region, New York state announced Dec. 19. That was the second-largest allotment secured by any of the state’s 10 regional councils, behind only $96.2 million funneling to 76 projects in the Finger Lakes.

The Southern Tier also notched a high level of funding. It is slated to receive $91.1 million for 62 projects, the fourth-highest award in New York. The North Country was next with $90.2 million for 82 projects, followed by the Mohawk Valley, which tied for the sixth-largest award by netting $59.7 million for 70 projects.

Central New York’s high funding total comes a year after it netted the largest state-aid check in the first round of regional-council funding. The state awarded $103.7 million for 74 projects in the region in 2011.

Of the previous year’s projects, 71 are moving forward on schedule, Central New York regional council co-chair Robert Simpson, who is also president and CEO of CenterState CEO, said in a conference call discussing the most recent awards. That history probably helped the region receive another large funding award, he continued.

“Last year, when the governor made these grants, he made it very clear it would be not just for who had the best ideas, but for who demonstrated the best track record for implementing the funding we were given,” Simpson said. “The three [projects] that aren’t currently tracking on schedule are ones where the companies themselves decided they didn’t want to make the investment in New York State. They rejected the funding.”

The 2012 awards took the form of grants, tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, and other incentives. They will come from a host of state agencies, including Empire State Development (ESD), the Department of Labor, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

In the Central New York Region — made up of Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, and Oswego counties — the largest individual funding award went to Syracuse Community Health Center, Inc. ESD designated $3.1 million to go toward developing a health-care campus at the old Superior Electric facility in the 800-900 block of South Salina Street in Syracuse.

Other funding ESD earmarked for Syracuse included $2.5 million for Paramount Realty Group to transform the former Sibley’s Department Store into mixed-use space. Outside the city, the economic-development agency decided to channel $500,000 toward Sweet Spot Development’s renovations set to turn the former Camillus Cutlery plant into medical-office space and apartments known as Camillus Mills.

A pair of plastic manufacturers is scheduled to receive funding in Cayuga County. ESD awarded BoMer Plastics $100,000 to expand its operations and add jobs, while the Department of Labor decided to send Currier Plastics, Inc. $100,000 to train 80 employees as lean-manufacturing technicians.

Funding headed to Cortland County includes $250,000 from ESD to help the city of Cortland construct a parking deck over a business-district parking lot. It also includes $315,000 from New York State Homes and Community Renewal channeled through the village of Homer to help start Homer Soy Products, LLC. That company is tagged for another regional-council award, $485,319 from ESD to aid in renovating a former soybean oil facility. Homer Soy Products plans to invest $1.4 million in the project and hire 25 people.

In Madison County, ESD prescribed $250,000 to assist Community Memorial Hospital with technological upgrades that will allow it to connect electronically to Crouse Hospital in Syracuse. In Oswego County, ESD opted to drive $2 million toward a 150-acre site in Central Square being developed by the Central New York Raceway Park.

The state also set aside money for Central New York that has yet to be tied to specific projects. Such funding includes $1.5 million for housing rehabilitation and economic development intended to benefit low- and moderate-income families, $48 million in Federal Industrial Development Bonds, and $4.5 million in Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits.

“It runs the gamut,” Simpson said. “Each of these projects has merits in their own right, and I’m excited about seeing them funded.”

In the Southern Tier — Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, and Tompkins counties — the largest single project receiving funding is the Southern Tier High Technology Incubator, Inc. ESD will give it $7 million.

In the North Country — Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties — the largest amount of funding headed for a single project is $5.4 million from ESD. It is targeted for the Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency, which will use the money to acquire and renovate a 92-unit affordable apartment complex in Watertown.

Finally, the biggest chunk of single-project funding headed to the Mohawk Valley — Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Oneida, Otsego, and Schoharie counties — went to Valley Health Services, Inc. of Herkimer County. It plans to use more than $1.8 million from ESD and the Department of Labor to develop a housing facility for older individuals after training 20 unemployed workers as certified nursing assistants and home health aides.

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com