Category Archives: Business News

The Lake George Regional Planning Board is helping the region’s small businesses by offering working capital micro-loans for enterprises within Clinton, Essex, Hamilton, Warren, and Washington Counties.

The loans will be available for businesses that have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The funds are not to be used to pay off existing debt, refinancing other loans, acquire a position in business, purchase of equipment, investments, expansion, or personal expenses.

Lake Champlain and Lake George Regional Planning Board controls their regionally based Revolving Loan Fund program (RLF). This program provides financing throughout the area in order to support small business growth. The RLF program provides low-cost, short-term financing to businesses that are unable to obtain regular financing from the bank, officials said.

More than $13 million in loans have been distributed to start-ups and business expansions in the five-county region.

The Retail Council of New York State has  launched RetailNewYork.com, an online directory for independent Main Street merchants of all sorts from throughout the state.

“Their stores might be closed for now, but they’re open for on-line and phone orders and ready to ship right to your door,” said Council  President and CEO Ted Potrikus. “We want to fill the site with contact information for stores of every sort. These are the Main Street merchants who need our support.”

“While we’re all waiting it out indoors, RetailNewYork is a great way to find your favorite stores and work out some retail therapy,” he said.

The council is also asking shoppers to support their local businesses by going online and leaving a review, referring a friend, or liking, commenting on or sharing the business’ social media links.

Listing on the directory is free for Retail Council members and, through at least Aug. 31, for stores that are not yet members of the statewide association, Potrikus said.

The state Department of Labor has launched an application for New Yorkers to apply for traditional unemployment insurance or the new COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.

Officials said the one-stop-shop for unemployment benefits will connect people with the benefits they deserve faster, without requiring them to call the Department of Labor.

Due to cumbersome federal guidelines, New Yorkers were required to apply for regular unemployment insurance and be rejected before applying for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. With the new app, New Yorkers can simply fill out one form to get the correct benefits.

The DOL has also deployed over 3,100 representatives dedicated to answering unemployment benefit questions, seven days a week. This is up from 400 who previously manned the DOL call center prior to the pandemic.

Since the COVID-19 crisis began, DOL has paid approximately $2.2 billion in unemployment insurance benefits to 1.1 million New Yorkers, officials said.

The Warren County Local Development Corp. has created a loan program to help small businesses recover from economic hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of $200,000 has been allocated for loans of up to $15,000 each with a 4 percent  interest rate. Repayment of a loan must be within four years, with loan payments deferred for the first two months, officials said. There is no prepayment penalty.

To be eligible:

• Applicants must be either sole proprietors, independent contractors, self-employed, or an LLC operating within Warren County. They cannot previously have received Payroll Protection Plan or other loans.

• Businesses must have 20 or fewer full/part time employees.

• Loans may be used for working capital, payroll, rent, utilities, mortgage and monthly expenses.

• They must have been in business for at least two years.

The Federal Reserve has expanded its $600 billion Main Street Lending Program to serve much smaller businesses.

The move comes after the Federal Reserve accepted more than 2,200 comments about the proposed lending program from people, businesses and nonprofits. The Fed has yet to set a start date, saying that will be “announced soon.”

The minimum loan amount under the program will now be $500,000 for new loans and priority loans, down from the originally proposed $1 million, opening up the program to smaller businesses. The “expanded” loan type will be a minimum of $10 million, designed for larger businesses.

The ceiling for loans will also be raised to companies with up to 15,000 employees or up to $5 billion in annual revenue, compared with original thresholds of 10,000 employees or $2.5 billion in revenue when the program was first announced. That means much larger companies will now qualify for the program.

There will be a new type of “priority loan” in which the Federal Reserve will buy 85 percent of the loan made by a bank, as opposed to the 95 percent the Fed will buy through its Main Street New Loan Facility and Main Street Expanded Loan Facility, announced earlier this month.

By Christine Graf

After two years of negotiations, the agreement which would have allowed Pioneer Bank to purchase Jaeger & Flynn for $12.75 million has been terminated.

With more than 85 employees working in offices in Clifton Park, Saratoga Springs, and Glens Falls, Jaeger & Flynn is the third largest health insurance broker in the region. They also offer human resources consulting and a variety of other services.

According to Pioneer Bank CEO Tom Amell, it was Jaeger & Flynn President and CEO Thomas Flynn who ultimately made the decision to terminate the agreement.

“His reasoning for it made good business sense,” said Amell. “The decision was made primarily because of COVID-19  unrest. It happened at a time when there was an out clause in the contract. We were so close to getting final touches on it, and then the world changed on us. We mutually agreed to take a deep breath, step back, and make sure our underlying business are strong.”

By Christine Graf

Metrix Online Learning is being offered free of charge to residents and businesses in Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties.

The online learning platform was developed by Albany-based NY Wired for Education. It features more than 5,000 different courses in everything from Microsoft Office to disease prevention. The majority fall under the categories of information technology, basic business, retail service, manufacturing, and healthcare.

Classes are available online and can be accessed any time of day, any day of the week.

Subscription costs for Metrix Online Learning are paid for by the three-county consortium of one-stop career centers in Warren, Saratoga, and Washington counties. These centers are located in Glens Falls, Ballston Spa, and Fort Edward and are funded by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The WIOA was designed to strengthen and improve the country’s workforce.

BY CHRISTINE GRAF

Local chambers of commerce are scrambling to provide support to their members during this unprecedented time of financial uncertainly. They have become information clearinghouses and are disseminating updated information related to COVID-19 as quickly as possible.

According to Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Gina Mintzer, she is receiving as many as 150 emails a day on the subject.

“The information is coming in so fast. I get information from the county, state, federal government, and governor’s office,” she said. “We are trying to keep abreast of all of that information that’s being thrown out there by government agencies to benefit those who need it the most. We are distilling that information and getting it out there through e-blasts and our social media platform.”