The Finger Lakes Regional Economic Council held its first meeting since more than three quarters of a billion dollars in economic development funds were doled out in December, with Rochester and the Finger Lakes receiving what many stakeholders considered too small a slice of pie.

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"Our commitment as we articulated when we proposed the plan is to deliver. We are a region that had reinvented ourselves and been as resilient as any in this state, and part of the reason that we succeed is we persevere," Joel Seligman, president of University of Rochester said.

Seligman talked about additional commitments the state has made to the region since it was awarded just under $69 million dollars for 93 local projects in December.

He highlighted the governor's recent $26 million commitment to the $100 million Interstate 390 project, discussions around the future of Eastman Business Park, and the Golisano Institute for Sustainability at RIT.

"What I'm most impressed by is the seriousness with which Albany is taking the process. This was not lip service; this was their fundamental way of addressing economic development,” Seligman said.

Duffy told council members this really is just the beginning of the process.

"Part of today's meeting was to listen and ask questions about how can we improve the process," Duffy said.

Duffy said the state plans to better clarify funding expectations as well as how regional projects competing for funds are scored.

This time around, Seligman said time is on the council's side.

"The reality is, so many things were developed so quickly, whether it was the new CFA process, whether it was how you scored this, whether it was the relationship between that and the strategic plan competition, we will get to a better sense going forward," he said.

"This year, it will be much less about competition among regions, and much more about collaboration and results, although there's always going to be some competition when you're trying to get your project funded," said Duffy.

The governor has set aside $200 million in his budget for economic development efforts.

It's unclear yet how much in additional funds will be available through the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) process. Last year, it was $800 million.

Regional Economic Development Councils