Tompkins County IDA revises local construction-labor policy

ITHACA, N.Y. — As it seeks to boost area construction employment, the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency (TCIDA) has voted to approve revisions to its local labor-utilization policy, which it first adopted in 2016.

The revised policy establishes a 75-percent construction-labor requirement for workers residing in Tompkins and the adjacent six counties, per a Dec. 9 news release from Ithaca Area Economic Development (IAED). 

IAED is a private, nonprofit economic-development organization serving Ithaca and Tompkins County.

The policy requires notifying the Building Trades Council and solicitating bids from local contractors. It also outlines a formal waiver process for warranty issues, specialized skills, significant-cost differentials, and other extenuating circumstances. 

Affordable-housing projects are exempt from the policy.

“This local labor policy is the product of a lot of careful thinking, discussion, and compromise to reach agreement on how to encourage developers to build here while also using our homegrown talent to get these projects done. I want to thank the IDA members and IAED staff that helped us get to the finish line,” said Rich John, who chairs the TCIDA.

The revisions passed by the TCIDA “strengthens” the 2016 policy that was enacted to gather data and better understand the local labor capacity, particularly for large, multi-story development projects, IAED said. 

IAED, the administrative agent for the TCIDA, compiled and presented data to the TCIDA’s labor committee to inform policy revisions. Conversations with a cross-section of key stakeholders “complemented the process,” IAED said.

“The new policy builds on the data gathered from recent projects that have received financial incentives from the TCIDA,” Heather McDaniel, IAED president, said. “The TCIDA, developers, labor representatives, general contractors, and elected officials rolled up our sleeves and developed a policy that will provide construction jobs for local workers and continue to support growth and investment in Ithaca and Tompkins County.”

“This policy will help keep local wages in the hands of local workers, leading to an increase in homeownership and apprentice programs, and ultimately a stronger and more vibrant community,” Brian Noteboom, representative of Carpenters Local 277, said. “This is a win for everybody, especially tradespeople, and is a testament to the partnerships that make it happen every day.”

TCIDA — a public authority created by the Tompkins County Legislature — works to provide economic incentives to business and industry to “diversify and strengthen Tompkins County’s tax base and enhance community vitality by supporting job creation, business and industrial development, and community revitalization,” per the IAED release.