Leaders of the Rochester Community Coalition will travel to Albany today (March 2) to garner support in the state Legislature for five initiatives aimed at promoting job growth and improving the local economy.

Rochester Business Alliance President and CEO Sandy Parker, Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy, Rochester Area Community Foundation President and Executive Director Jennifer Leonard, Rochester Institute of Technology President William Destler and University of Rochester Vice President and COO Peter Robinson will meet with Senate and Assembly leadership and members of the governor's staff to discuss the coalition's 2010 agenda.

"The projects on this list are important investments that will create much-needed jobs," Parker said. "That helps not only our community, but the entire state economy. This agenda also includes more than projects for which we are seeking state dollar investment, but also legislative actions that can be taken to support the community's goal of revitalizing our economy."

Among the projects requiring investment are:

• $5 million over four years to expand a Rochester After-School Initiative, developed through collaboration among the City of Rochester, Rochester City School District, United Way and Community Foundation.
  "This agenda is a balance of priorities addressing both community and economic issues of major importance to our area," Leonard said. "I am particularly delighted that the agenda calls for investing in the future of our youth in the form of a coordinated approach to improving after-school programs. Today's youth and their families face major challenges; and we must invest in their future."
  The program is designed to help youth find safe and constructive options, develop critical social skills, establish mentor relationships with caring adults, and provide access to academic enrichment. The investment will be used to bolster and expand this program to serve an additional 625 youth annually.
• $40 million for the Institute for Sustainability at Rochester Institute of Technology
  The state investment is essential to completing a total public-private partnership fundraising goal of $107 million. In addition to providing up to 6,000 new jobs regionally, 100 professional and technical positions at RIT and 140 construction jobs over two years, the institute will establish the region as a global hub for the emerging green-tech economy.
  "It's very gratifying to have the community so strongly behind our Sustainability Institute initiative," Destler said. "It demonstrates that our business and government partners understand that RIT represents the kinds of jobs and economic growth that our region needs to take its rightful place as a national and global leader in the field of sustainable technologies. This is an investment in New York State's future as well as Rochester's, and we will deliver on its promise if the requested funding can be secured."
• $150 million for Interstate 390 Interchange Project
  This project will provide a comprehensive overhaul of the corridor from the Genesee River to the I-390-/I-590 Interchange to sufficiently support and accommodate the increased traffic flow associated with planned and future growth of the University of Rochester, as well as from planned projects along Mt. Hope Avenue and East Henrietta Road. It will allow our region to fully realize the University's potential for growth, which includes a $500 million strategic plan, and result in hiring 771 new staff at the UR Medical Center, creation of 1,000 permanent jobs in the community, and an average 1,400 construction jobs per year to accommodate the associated major capital projects.
  "The University of Rochester and the surrounding community are poised for a period of significant growth, both in terms of new university facilities and employees and commercial development," said UR president Joel Seligman. "Essential to this growth is the development of a regional transportation network that reduces congestion, increases efficiency, and improves public safety. The new and structural improvements proposed in the I-390 Interchange Project will significantly improve traffic flow both to and from the university and among the surrounding residential neighborhoods and will promote the growth of the university's education, research, and clinical enterprises."
  

The coalition is also pushing for changes in state policies that are hampering economic development in our region. Among those the coalition wants addressed:

• Local Government Control - Mandate Relief
  Local governments are frequently required to support state-directed programs and regulations without the necessary funding or decision-making power. These mandates often follow a "one-size-fits-all" approach with little regard for issues unique to localities, particularly the economy and taxpayer concerns. Albany should refrain from enacting new mandates, and revise existing ones that fail to factor in municipalities' ability to pay and restrict their ability to manage.
  2010 goals include amending Taylor Law, a labor relations statute, to require that an arbitration panel accord substantial weight to "ability to pay," without increasing taxes and fees, when making an award, and expanding waiver implementation so that all counties are made aware of existing and newly granted waivers and allowed to opt in.
  "Collaboration among government, business, nonprofits and education is alive and well through the Rochester Community Coalition," Mayor Duffy said. "Issues of vital importance to Rochester's economic rebound such as mandate relief for local governments are our top priority. I am pleased that we are once again speaking in a unified effective voice."
• Empire Zones and IDA Reform
  Several bills are under consideration to reform programs such as Empire Zones and Industrial Development Agencies, which play a crucial role in creating and retaining jobs. The coalition is telling Albany that provisions that increase program transparency and accountability should be supported, while provisions that will increase costs and stifle development, such as prevailing wage requirements and mandating project labor agreements, should be defeated.
  "I am thrilled that the coalition has targeted one of County government's long-standing top concerns, job creation, as a priority for the coming year," said Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks. "By requesting needed Empire Zone and IDA reforms that will free up businesses to do what they do best - create jobs and grow our economy - we can bring about real change without lobbying for funds from an already cash-strapped State Government. I look forward to working with the members of the Community Coalition, our local state delegation, and Monroe County's hardworking taxpayers and families to advance this shared agenda in the days and weeks to come."

The coalition has also launched a public communications campaign that will encourage area residents to send letters in support of the agenda, and coalition members are encouraged to promote it as part of their individual lobbying efforts.

For information on that campaign, go to http://tinyurl.com/RCCvvoice2010.