Warren County EDC and the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce partnered in urging our Federal elected officials to maintain the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area’s status as an MSA. See our letter below:
March 19, 2021
The Honorable Charles E. Schumer
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Kristen Gillibrand
478 Russell
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Elise Stefanik
318 Cannon Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Re: Oppose Proposed Changes to MSA Definition by OMB
Dear Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand and Congresswoman Stefanik:
Recent proposed changes to the Metropolitan Statistical Area, or MSA, definition by the Office of Management and Budget have significant negative potential impacts to Glens Falls, Warren and Washington County and indeed several other New York communities and we ask that they not be adopted without further study.
At a time where our economic recovery from pandemic literally requires unprecedented intervention and support, changing the way the Federal Funds and eligibility are determined with no clear impact analysis is both flawed and counterproductive. Significant questions remain on the impact to healthcare reimbursement, housing and transportation fund access, recovery related funding and support eligibility, labor rate recalculation on approved by unfinished public projects and business relocation and onshoring efforts among many others. Business large and small as well as our entire community stands to be adversely affected by this effort.
Please work with the elected leaders of the more than 140 other communities across the country that face redesignation concerns to suspend any adoption of this proposed redefinition until full impacts and solutions can be addressed proactively. We stand in a precarious time and need to work together to ensure the needs of our community and many others like it take precedence over an academic redesignation that has not fully studied, defined and addressed the scores of potential impacts of this ill-timed proposal. We would welcome the opportunity to provide greater input on this matter by contacting either of our offices directly.
Respectfully,
Jim Siplon
President & CEO
Economic Development Corporation Warren County
Michael Bittel
President & CEO
Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce
