BOLTON LANDING - Gov. Eliot Spitzer on Wednesday renewed his pledge not to raise taxes in an effort to improve the business climate in New York.
“In fact, we will continue reducing taxes,” Spitzer said in a speech opening the annual meeting of The Business Council of New York, the state's most powerful business lobby.
The comments come as the Spitzer administration is crafting its 2008-09 state budget proposal.
This week, New York City officials warned that revenues from Wall Street and real estate could be falling, which are major factors in the state budget.
Spitzer also vowed to continue working to reduce expenses associated with mandates such as the Wick's Law - a pro-union measure that requires multiple subcontractors on public construction projects - as well as medical malpractice insurance and other liability costs.
Reducing the cost of doing business in New York was one prong of a three-pronged economic development strategy Spitzer laid out in his state of the state speech in January and revisited in his keynote at The Sagamore, a luxury resort on Lake George in the southern Adirondacks.
Reforming education and investing in infrastructure, such as roads, bridges and even high-speed Internet access, round out Spitzer's economic development agenda.
Spitzer highlighted some of what he considers his administration's early accomplishments in education - including a 10 percent increase in school aid and the appointment of a higher education commission charged with raising SUNY and CUNY schools to be among the nation's top public universities.
The Democratic governor also pointed to the $1.2 billion in transportation spending in the latest state budget and said over the next several months his administration will reveal a plan to provide universal access to affordable, high-speed Internet.
Spitzer's keynote opening the council's three-day meeting was titled “Getting Back to Business.” It came a day after the release of a Siena Research Institute poll that suggested most New Yorkers are tiring of a political scandal that has stalled state government for months.
The poll found that 66 percent of New Yorkers felt that the scandal - centered on a scheme by two Spitzer aides to discredit Republican Senate leader Joseph Bruno - is important but the government should focus on other issues.
Earlier Wednesday, members of the Senate majority held the first in a series of round-table forums focusing on the upstate economy, focusing on their “Upstate Now” legislation that proposes $3.7 billion in economic development initiatives over the next three years, including tax relief and incentives, new and existing capital investments and private sector matching funds.
“Right now, that's the only real comprehensive economic development plan that's out there,” said Mark Hansen, Bruno's spokesman. “We haven't seen any concrete plan from (the governor).”
Bruno is scheduled to give his own speech at the Business Council meeting on Friday.
The comments come as the Spitzer administration is crafting its 2008-09 state budget proposal.
This week, New York City officials warned that revenues from Wall Street and real estate could be falling, which are major factors in the state budget.
Spitzer also vowed to continue working to reduce expenses associated with mandates such as the Wick's Law - a pro-union measure that requires multiple subcontractors on public construction projects - as well as medical malpractice insurance and other liability costs.
Reducing the cost of doing business in New York was one prong of a three-pronged economic development strategy Spitzer laid out in his state of the state speech in January and revisited in his keynote at The Sagamore, a luxury resort on Lake George in the southern Adirondacks.
Reforming education and investing in infrastructure, such as roads, bridges and even high-speed Internet access, round out Spitzer's economic development agenda.
Spitzer highlighted some of what he considers his administration's early accomplishments in education - including a 10 percent increase in school aid and the appointment of a higher education commission charged with raising SUNY and CUNY schools to be among the nation's top public universities.
The Democratic governor also pointed to the $1.2 billion in transportation spending in the latest state budget and said over the next several months his administration will reveal a plan to provide universal access to affordable, high-speed Internet.
Spitzer's keynote opening the council's three-day meeting was titled “Getting Back to Business.” It came a day after the release of a Siena Research Institute poll that suggested most New Yorkers are tiring of a political scandal that has stalled state government for months.
The poll found that 66 percent of New Yorkers felt that the scandal - centered on a scheme by two Spitzer aides to discredit Republican Senate leader Joseph Bruno - is important but the government should focus on other issues.
Earlier Wednesday, members of the Senate majority held the first in a series of round-table forums focusing on the upstate economy, focusing on their “Upstate Now” legislation that proposes $3.7 billion in economic development initiatives over the next three years, including tax relief and incentives, new and existing capital investments and private sector matching funds.
“Right now, that's the only real comprehensive economic development plan that's out there,” said Mark Hansen, Bruno's spokesman. “We haven't seen any concrete plan from (the governor).”
Bruno is scheduled to give his own speech at the Business Council meeting on Friday.
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