From left, Molinaro, Saland, and county legislature Chairman Robert Rolison

POUGHKEEPSIE – To educate Dutchess County’s business communities about how to accomplish more with less by taking advantage of the numerous financial incentives and cost savings programs available to them through the state and federal government, the Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation was joined by Senator Stephen Saland and Assemblyman Marc Molinaro as they hosted The Economic Development Toolbox Tuesday in the Dutchess County Legislative Chambers.

The overall intent of the forum was to provide the public with “tools for your toolbox, things that you may be able to access that will ultimately benefit you in the bottom line,” said Saland.

According to Molinaro, “There may be very specific state and other resources that you can use to drive down energy costs and to address expansion ideas.”

Both lawmakers noted they were there to listen and process feedback from community participants so that they could use these experiences in their respective public offices to offer additional solutions and avoid becoming part of the problem.

Molinaro wants to bring the information back to Albany.

“In moving forward our hope is that we can continue to translate the conversation you all have today into both a legislative set of priorities but also to go back to the agencies that provide these services and perhaps retool them a little bit to be more effective, helpful, and perhaps a little more specific to the needs you have and the needs of the Hudson Valley.”

Outlined by a panel were numerous incentives available to small businesses and minority and women owned businesses through Empire State Development, specifically to help cover costs of upgrading to energy efficient systems.

For larger commercial operations, tax credits and funding opportunities offered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) geared towards improving industrial and energy efficiency and making process improvements were explained.

Other topics included opportunities to cut costs on electricity bills offered through Central Hudson and free engineering services available to small businesses or manufacturing operations with 500 employees or less through the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program.