• Advocacy for Business

  • The Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce works with our member businesses, organizations, and the academic community who serve on committees, subcommittees, task forces, and councils to develop and implement policy on major issues affecting business in our region of Washington, Warren, Northern Saratoga and Essex Counties. 

  • What are Members are saying about our advocacy:
     
    The ARCC was happy to assist Adirondack Studios with a connection to our regional SBA Director. Read more about it below:
     
    "Our US Small Business Administration Disaster Relief Loan (SBA EIDL) was approved in December 2021. We were targeting the funds to pay down our line of credit at Glens Falls National Bank, which was outstanding due to pandemic-related matters. Administrative complications and a reduction in SBA staff to process the Loan delayed funding however until November 30, 2022, when we happened to attend a seminar at the Queensbury Hotel on our Regional Economic Outlook sponsored by Glens Falls National and the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber’s CEO Tricia Rogers and I were speaking after the event, and I mentioned the difficulties we had encountered in our attempts to secure the SBA Funding, now a year from its original approval. Tricia literally jumped at the opportunity to assist, and connected me immediately to our regional SBA Director, Jeff Boyce. Within a week, our funding was released and the loan closing occurred on December 8th. Thanks to Tricia’s connection and her eagerness to assist, a year-long odyssey was finally resolved. Bravo to the ARCC and its CEO Tricia Rogers!" – D. Thomas Lloyd, Founding Principal, Adirondack Studios
     

     

  • July 14, 2022
     
    The ARCC contacted Governor Hochul's office to encourage the use of New York State Funds and/or American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) monies to pay off the Federal Loan used to fund the NY Unemployment Trust Fund Loan Balance.  We believe that putting the high unemployment insurance payouts, and in turn debt accrued during COVID-19, on the backs of our business community would not be productive.
     
    The Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce has been concerned with increased unemployment insurance rates since April 2020.  We have consistently advocated our concerns over the past two years of increased unemployment and unemployment insurance payouts due to COVID-19 restrictions.  So many of our businesses have struggled through COVID-19, inflation, supply chain issues, and lack of workers, and they cannot afford upwards of a 30.5% - 182.3% increase in total Unemployment Insurance payments (these are the NY State Comptroller’s estimates).

     

  • New York State Child Care Support
     
    As you know, childcare is crucial to helping our future generations be engaged in social and learning aspects at a young age. In addition, childcare is important to allow parents to work and help our economy. Unfortunately, there is a big disconnect across New York between childcare availability and affordability. Many North Country families can’t afford childcare, and even if they could, it is difficult to find available childcare providers. We need your help with more funding for “childcare deserts” like the North Country and much of New York State.
     
    We are making the following recommendations:
    • Help streamline the application and ongoing regulations of childcare providers across the state. We can keep our children safe AND lessen regulations. Have our state workers be supportive in guiding childcare providers through opening and maintaining childcare facilities.
    • We need immediate tax relief in the form of tax credits for our childcare providers, our parents and our businesses who help pay for childcare support. The cost of childcare currently makes it cost prohibitive in most cases for those who need it most to self-fund childcare. The average infant childcare costs $14,000 per year. If someone is making $15.00/hour that is equal to 44.8% of that person’s income going toward childcare for one infant. Therefore, many parents stay at home and do not enter the workforce.
    • New York State needs to fund financial aid and work study programs at the college level to encourage college students to enter childcare as a career. Funding needs to be increased to our 35 childcare and advocacy agencies across New York State.

     

  • 2023-Lunch-with-Legislators-cropped-resized.jpg

  • Photo taken at 2023 ARCC Lunch with Legislators. Pictured from left to right: Senator Dan Stec, ARCC President & CEO Tricia Rogers, Assemblyman Matt Simpson, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, and Assemblyman Jake Ashby.

  • Advocacy. Education. Connection. Collaboration.