With the new year underway, the Niagara USA Chamber of Commerce officially rolled out its advocacy agenda on Thursday.
This year’s focus revolves around getting back to business, in contrast to last year, which was centered on coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are no explicitly stated projects for the chamber to undertake, just principles.
“Businesses face a lot of challenges in the U.S. and New York, and then there’s constantly things that they need to deal with,” said Craig Turner, the incoming chairman for the chamber. “That’s why you join a chamber of commerce like ours, because we are an advocacy chamber and we can be the voice of business.”
The agenda was unveiled Thursday morning during an event at the Wurlitzer Building in North Tonawanda.
The biggest new point is advocating a comprehensive strategy to preserve and strengthen the county’s healthcare system while ensuring residents have access to services. Turner said that it’s a quality of life concern, as employers may not be able to attract employees to Niagara County because of the distance to healthcare services.
“That’s going to be a huge issue going forward,” Turner said.
Other topics the chamber will advocate for are advancing an all-options energy pathway for new projects, workforce training programs, upgrading transportation infrastructure and reforming the county’s property tax environment.
This is a process the chamber undergoes every year, starting in September as it collects feedback on issues to be cognizant of in the year ahead.
Some of their principles are the same as years past, such as wanting the U.S. and Canada to create border policies that prioritize the economic needs of the region, stopping burdensome regulations on employers, sustainability measures for farms and ensuring a fair share of state aid.
Turner said this approach of creating a list of policies has worked for the chamber for the past few years. Whenever an issue comes their way, the advocacy committee will advise the chamber on how to respond before the chamber makes any official statements.
This chamber of commerce currently represents about 500 businesses in Niagara County.