Speaker claims Albany hurting upstate's odds

New York State's spending habits eventually will drive businesses and taxpayers out of the upstate region, Brian Sampson, of Unshackle Upstate, told a crowd of about 40 Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce members at a Thursday luncheon.

"I don't care who's in control, Republicans or Democrats, that's not my issue," said Mr. Sampson, the executive director of the Rochester-based group. "My issue is the issues. I want these people to address my issues, your issues as taxpayers and to take care of them to make them move along."

Mr. Sampson said Unshackle Upstate plans to lobby upstate officials to vote against bills that increase taxes and fees and provide "unfair" breaks to New York City and downstate municipalities.

"We want to identify some of these bad bills and sit down with lawmakers to let them know what our issues are," he said. "The more members we know are on track with us, the more we can start shaping the policies coming from Albany."

Unshackle Upstate recently has taken issue with some Wicks Law reforms passed earlier this year.

The law mandates the hiring of multiple contractors for public sector capital projects worth a certain amount, and was intended to protect subcontractors from billing fraud. The reforms passed earlier this month allow New York City school districts to bypass the law for the next five years.

"They don't have to abide by the same set of rules and the same set of laws as our school districts and all of our municipalities," Mr. Sampson said.

The Wicks Law, according to an Unshackle Upstate news release, "has led to higher construction costs for upstate schools and, therefore, higher taxes for upstate residents and employers."

Upstate lawmakers turned a cold shoulder to an amendment written by Unshackle Upstate that extends the Wicks Law exemption to all of the state's municipalities, Mr. Sampson said.

"It never got to the floor and it never got moved," he said. "I don't know what happened behind the closed doors but I think our folks were told, 'Don't even think about bringing that forward.'"

Unshackle Upstate will continue touring upstate municipalities to shop its message.

"We're going around holding town hall meetings across the state ... and we're going to let you as taxpayers share your stories, share your anger, share your angst, talk about how these bad laws and bills and bad public policies are affecting you."