If a specialty cheese company fulfills its commitment to open a new, state-of-the-art factory in Cayuga County, it will not be doing so without help.

And that help will come partially as a result of years of work and tens of thousands of dollars directed toward government lobbying.

Saratoga Cheese Corp. announced earlier this month that it plans to build a 64,000-square-foot production facility in Aurelius. The factory will eventually create 77 full-time jobs, pump $3.23 million in annual payroll into the community and create $123 million in revenues, according to company officials.

At the same announcement, state Senator Michael Nozzolio said he had secured a $400,000 state grant for site design and plant development.

That grant, which a Nozzolio aide at the time said is coming from a capital fund for upstate economic development, will likely be the first of numerous pieces of government aid to go toward the project.

But the old adage that you have to spend money to make money rings true in this case. Saratoga Cheese has spent more than $130,000 since August 2007 for government lobbying efforts at the state and federal level. And some of the company's primary stakeholders have political experience.

Saratoga Cheese officials are saying these public incentives are important pieces of a puzzle that includes tens of millions of dollars in private investments. And they become even more important in a tax climate like New York that is less than business-friendly, according to a representative from a state business group.

“Government efforts have been huge and instrumental in the location of this project,” said William Teator, spokesperson for Saratoga Cheese.

Along with being a stakeholder in the project, Teator is the president of Washington D.C. firm Capital Advocates, which is handling Saratoga Cheese's government relations at the federal level. According to a database run by the Center for Responsive Politics, the company has spent $60,000 so far in 2008 on federal lobbying efforts.

Saratoga Cheese has extended similar efforts in Albany, where it is represented by The Vandervort Group. State records show that Saratoga Cheese will have paid the firm about $70,000 between August 2007 and June 2009 to coordinate meetings with the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, the state Energy Research and Development Authority, Empire State Development and other government bodies.

Saratoga Cheese Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Rosenbaum has also been involved in state

politics. He was the Independence Party chair in Albany County for a period of time until 2004, when the committee closed operations amidst controversy over how its funds were spent.

All these efforts are part of a multi-year planning process that involves investors, consultants and other businesses, as well as government officials, Teator said. The company is using new processing technology engineered by German company ALPMA, and the factory is being designed by a “quality” vendor known as Food Tech, he continued.

The public component is an important step to take for these things to come together, Teator said. The business proposal estimates $40 million will be invested from private sources.

“Everyone has a different set of tools they can bring to the project,” Teator said.

Along with the $400,000 grant, the factory will likely receive a variety of tax breaks, refunds and other incentives through the Empire State Development program. The state program is an economic development tool used to encourage businesses to open and expand in New York, and businesses can receive millions of dollars in benefits by promising to create jobs and revenue.

Before Saratoga Cheese receives any benefits, the city of Auburn must first agree to extend its Empire Zone to the Aurelius business park where the factory is likely to be built. While that has not happened yet, local officials are expressing optimism that it will.

But according to Empire State Development spokesperson Stephanie Zakowicz, these benefits are not given up front. Normally, involved officials come up with an agreement that requires the company to meet specific goals, like number of jobs created and revenue generated, before receiving different incentives.

“They don't get it until the goals are reached,” said Zakowicz, who was referring to the process in generic terms and not to this specific project. “It usually takes several years to get to the final goals.”

At the federal level, U.S. Rep. Michael Arcuri's office has stated on several occasions that the congressman is seeking $1.7 million from two federal bills, which would include $200,000 for developing the business park. That the funding was not finalized this year, but Arcuri will continue to work on acquiring it when Congress reconvenes in January, according to his office.

So why does it take so much political wrangling and public aid to open a factory in Cayuga County? According to New York State Business Council spokesman Michael Moran, it's that way throughout the country. But it is even more imperative in New York, Moran said.

The state is in competition with other locations for these businesses, he said. And New York has one of the worst tax climates for business in the country.

A recent study by the Public Policy Institute of New York State shows New Jersey to be the only state with a less business-friendly tax structure.

Moran said the council advocates for statewide spending restraints and a lower tax burden. Until that happens, these types of public incentives are the way to create investment and new jobs in New York, he said.

“The high taxes and high regulations in this state put up a lot of barriers,” Moran said. “If you don't use economic development tools to make it a worthwhile proposal, it won't happen.”

And the groundwork doesn't stop once the local, state or federal government has committed the incentives, Teator said. Once public financing enters the equation, it brings with it a higher level of scrutiny, he said.

What are the track records of the company representatives? How feasible are your goals and estimates? Which industry people are putting their stamp on your proposal?

These are all questions that have to be answered by the time a project gets to this level, Teator said.

“They look to see if you have done your homework,” Teator said. “You need to be able to show there is a lot of validation (in the business).”

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.