Governor Cuomo Launches Fourth Round of Regional Economic Development Councils

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today launched Round IV of the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) initiative, officially kicking off the 2014 competition for up to $750 million in state economic development resources.
The Consolidated Funding Application (CFA)
will open to applicants on May 1, enabling businesses, municipalities, not-for-profits and the public to begin applying for assistance from dozens of state funding programs, through a single application, for job-creating and community development projects.

“New York’s economy is on a come-back in large part because we have adopted a grassroots approach to economic development that is creating jobs and growing new industries across our state,” Governor Cuomo said. “The Regional Councils are working and we plan to continue that success with the fourth round this year. I look forward to seeing the new projects that the regions come up with as we continue to grow our economy and put New Yorkers back to work.”

Lieutenant Governor Robert J. Duffy, Chair of the Regional Economic Development Councils said, “A fourth round of the Regional Economic Development Councils will continue the achievements we’ve seen in every area of the state over the past three years. Under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, these councils were assembled to invest in our local communities from the ground up, and we’ve seen them do just that. I applaud the work being done by each of the Co-Chairs and their teams—jobs are being created, businesses are expanding, and New York State is back on the right track.”

The REDC process has transformed economic development in New York State, creating a statewide framework for bottom-up regional economic growth and streamlining the state funding application process. Over $2 billion in investments from the past three rounds are supporting more than 2,200 projects that have already created or retained more than 100,000 jobs statewide.

Round IV of the REDC initiative will award up to $750 million in state funding and tax incentives. To continue to motivate investment opportunities and job creation, the REDCs will compete for up to $150 million in capital funds and $70 million in Excelsior Tax Credits for projects and activities identified by the Councils as priorities in their regions. Additionally, up to $530 million from state agency programs will be awarded through the CFA process.

The competition this year will focus on:

• Implementation of regional strategic economic development plans;
• Performance in encouraging economic growth through job creation and investment; and  Identification of global marketing and export strategies.

The competition will be split into two parts: the five regions identified as Top Performers in 2013 will compete for two awards of $25 million each; and the five regions not identified as Top Performers in 2013 will compete for three awards of $25 million each. The balance of the $25 million in capital funds will be divided among the remaining five regions. Each region will also be eligible for up to $10 million in Excelsior Tax Credits to help attract business and create jobs in the region.

The 2014 REDC Guidebook and list of available resources will be accessible at regionalcouncils.ny.gov.

The CFA will open to applicants on May 1st and the deadline for applications is Monday, June 16th at 4 p.m.

For applicants, the CFA is available at https://apps.cio.ny.gov/apps/cfa/

Call Jim Cunningham at 607-725-1225 to learn more about this.

See this and other newsletter articles at http://amt-mep.org/files/7613/9955/0659/2014-05.pdf

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