Utica and Rome chamber leaders urged lawmakers to address hiring barriers and make state business assistance easier to use.
By David Laguerre
ALBANY: Workforce shortages, housing needs and access to state business programs were central concerns for Utica and Rome chamber leaders at a Nov. 10 Assembly hearing, according to a release from Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon’s office.
Buttenschon, who chairs the Assembly Small Business Committee, co-chaired the oversight hearing at the Legislative Office Building. The session examined the effectiveness of state-funded economic development programs and the challenges businesses face as technology and workforce needs change.
Bruce Hairston, executive director of the Rome Area Chamber of Commerce, and Kari Puleo, executive director of the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce, testified jointly. Their participation brought the concerns of Mohawk Valley employers into a discussion about how New York supports business growth.
Local chambers point to barriers beyond hiring
According to Buttenschon’s office, Hairston and Puleo called for continued investment in attracting workers, developing skilled career pathways and addressing housing and other supports that help people work. They also urged stronger connections among employers, schools and community organizations.
The chamber leaders stressed the importance of making state assistance easier for businesses to access, the release said. That concern connects the hearing’s workforce discussion with another issue raised by Buttenschon: the time and paperwork needed to seek help.
Buttenschon said business owners have described burdens associated with grant applications and bureaucracy. Her office’s account did not announce a new grant award, an application deadline or an adopted policy change. The hearing was an oversight session, not a notice that new assistance had become available.
Buttenschon calls for continued workforce investment
“As Chair of the Small Business Committee, I have heard from businesses in my district and around the state that emphasize the need for continued investment in workforce development,” Buttenschon said in the release.
“They are struggling to fill their positions with qualified candidates. Today’s hearing reinforced the need to listen to our businesses and engage in intentional, data-driven, and community-informed economic growth.”
Buttenschon was joined in chairing the session by Assemblyman Al Stirpe, chair of the Assembly committee on economic development, and Assemblyman William Conrad, chair of the Legislative Commission on Skills Development and Career Education, according to her office.
State agency describes outreach to businesses
Hope Knight, president and CEO of Empire State Development and commissioner of the Department of Economic Development, was the first witness, the release said.
According to Buttenschon’s office, Knight discussed a Small Business Roadshow intended to bring information about ESD’s nearly 30 small-business programs into communities. She also discussed a Chambers of Commerce Outreach Initiative to help local partners understand available resources.
Buttenschon pointed to a minority- and women-owned business roundtable and expo at SUNY Polytechnic Institute over the summer as an example of efforts to connect Mohawk Valley businesses with state assistance.
“This event helped to bring attention to the great work done by minority- and women-owned businesses across the Mohawk Valley, and to connect them to resources at ESD,” she said in the release.
Where business owners can find information
ESD’s Small Business and Technology Development resource page lists programs and tools for starting and growing a business, financing, manufacturing assistance and government contracting. Owners should check the requirements of each program rather than assume that hearing testimony changes eligibility.
The assemblywoman’s official directory page provides information about her office and work in the 119th District.
“I want to thank Bruce Hairston and Kari Puleo for preparing testimony and testifying in Albany today,” Buttenschon said. “The information they prepared was to support our small businesses and provide practical solutions.”
Sources: Nov. 10, 2026, news release supplied by Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon’s office; New York State Assembly member directory; Empire State Development small-business resources. The hearing account and participant remarks above are attributed to the office’s release.
Featured photograph: Office of Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon, November 10, 2026.