By Rod Hirsch

Frank Pollaro designs and builds custom furniture for clients such as Jerry Seinfeld,

Alec Baldwin, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Pollaro, owner of Pollaro Custom Furniture Inc. in Union, also built a solid working relationship with his local bankers.

They like what he brings to the table.

The same is true for Mark Gioioso, director of projects for MAR Acquisition Group LLC in Elizabeth, which restores residential and commercial properties for resale, and Luis Nogueira, president of Exit Realty Lucky Associates, with offices in Union, Essex and Middlesex counties, both of whom have strong relationships with their lenders.

Bob Ring, president of Meyer & Depew, an HVAC contractor operating in Kenilworth

and Union, is thankful he has a banker who  understood the benefits of installing solar panels on the roof of his building and signed off on the necessary financing.

All four businesses are credit-worthy, having proven to their banks that their companies are solid performers with viable business plans and strong roots in their communities. Nogueira and Gioioso are customers of Crown Bank while Pollaro and

Ring are with Union Center National Bank, two of the smaller community banks with

branch offices in Union County.

Community banks are generally recognized as those with $1 billion or less in assets.

They are part of a wider group of small banks, those with $10 billion or less in assets, which account for more than 50 percent of all lending to small businesses nationwide, according to CNNMoney.

President Barrack Obama has placed greater emphasis on small banks as part of his job stimulus strategy, calling for more lending assistance for these banks to help encourage job creation. Yet many people in the business community complain that banks in general continue to sit on funds and are not lending.

So who are small banks lending to and why?

“We are one of the banks out there that is lending,” said Joe Greer, executive vice president and chief lending officer for Crown Bank. “We’ve always been an urban lender…We have a unique feel for our marketplace and a real strong commitment to redevelopment and construction in the communities we serve. We’re primarily an inner-city lender (and) we want to promote business in that area.”

Ron Shapiro, vice president of commercial loans for Union Center National Bank, said the bank is an active lender in Union County.

“We’re kind of traditional in the view that a dollar out returns a dollar in,” Shapiro explained. “If we’re lending money to someone we need to make sure we will be paid back within a reasonable time frame."

“Start-ups, we have a difficulty (with)…We’re looking for a track record, viable sources of business cash flow, their ability to clearly withstand the economic downturns. Those are the companies we are lending to.”

Relationships between customers and smaller community banks tend to be built on

traditional values – trust, respect, friendship and confidence.

Green Offers Golden Opportunities

© Bombadil LLC 2010

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Inside Views

It is amazing to see how much pent up anger there is in our state. For years we have buried our heads in the sand, oblivious to the holes every level of government was digging. Times were good and we were generous.

Now we are waking up to just how generous. Like a drunk with a hangover, we are really mad at how much of a tip we left the bartender. Only in this case, our over-generosity went to public employees.

This change in attitude toward public employees is remarkable for several reasons. First, it crosses all lines. Except for their unions and themselves, it is hard to find anyone who supports our continued generosity to state workers, police, firefighters and teachers.

I am most surprised by the state Legislature. From the Senate president to the Assembly minority leader there is almost universal belief that a vast overhaul is needed. Given that the Legislature is overwhelmingly controlled by Democrats who normally count on public employee unions for a large part of their support, this reversal is nothing short of astounding.

What is also remarkable about the new focus of the debate is that it is local. People have awakened to the fact that the problem resides in their own town more than anywhere else. It is their teachers, police and fire departments that are at the root of the problem. Yes, state employees are also a problem, but nowhere near what exists on the local and county level.

As a result of this debate we are finally getting real information. Facts about pensions, pay and benefits are coming out that are shocking. While the rest of us are suffering the double whammy of the recession and increased taxes, these folks we have always been led to believe are poorly treated are in reality much better off than the people they serve.

The average New Jersey resident makes about $55,000 each year. State workers, when you adjust their 35-hour work weeks to 40 hours, average almost $70,000 per year. Police average almost $80,000, far below firefighters who work a straight 24 hours (including sleep and meal time) and then get three days off. Adjust their time to a 40-hour workweek equivalent (taking away paid sleep) means they make almost $100,000 per year.

But it is the teachers who really do well under the system. They get both a short year, 180 days of work, and a short day, 6.5 hours. When adjusted to a normal workweek, teachers average a whopping $112,337 per year. Not one of these folks is underpaid.

There is a lot of talk that it would be unfair to retroactively change any of the perks that public employees have received, that changes should apply only to new hires.

Frankly, it is almost criminal negligence that has gotten us to this point. Our elected officials for many years in many towns have not done what they are supposed to. They have themselves been feeding at the trough, building their pensions, getting their benefits paid. It has been an orgy at our expense.

Though I think it would be fine to revoke existing contracts, I realize it probably isn’t going to happen.

However, there are several changes that can and should be made immediately.

First, the accrual of leave time should be stopped. If you don’t use your vacation time in a year, you should lose it. Second, the accrual of sick time should be limited to 60 days. And for all sick time and vacation accrued in the future, no payment should be made upon retirement. The Elizabeth Board of Education adopted this system nearly 20 years ago and it did not lead to upheaval.

Third, the retirement age should be raised to at least 65, if not 67. It was lowered retroactively and it can be raised, as well. Our country can’t afford to have people become wards of the state when they are only 55.

Fourth, state employees should contribute at least 25 percent of their salaries to their insurance costs, and the defined benefit retirement program should be eliminated in favor of a defined contribution program similar to that in every private business.

Finally, wages should be frozen and public employees, especially teachers, should be required to work a full 40-hour week.

James Coyle

President

When we passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act last March – also known as the Recovery Bill – we heard from economists on the right and left, businesses and high-tech companies and the chamber of commerce who argued that something was needed to support an economy on the verge of collapse.

The Recovery Act helped pull our economy back from the brink by investing in programs proven to create jobs and providing a safety net to struggling families. The bill made important investments in education, transportation infrastructure, energy efficiency, health care and the workforce.

I personally helped lead an effort to include $22 billion in funding for science research that is benefitting Princeton, Rutgers and private businesses.

In the year since we passed the Recovery Bill $1.7 billion ended up in the pockets of New Jerseyans instead of IRS coffers, nearly $370 million has helped more than 1.4 million state seniors and unemployment benefits have been extended for more than 690,000 New Jersey residents looking for work.

All this has increased economic activity and created jobs in New Jersey. Those unsure about the impact of the Recovery bill should talk with the teacher who is still in the classroom, the police officer who is still on the beat and a small business in Mercer County that has hired new employees to develop medical devices as a result of recovery funding. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office concluded the Recovery Act resulted in as many as 2.4 million jobs.

Instead of finding ourselves mired in an economic crisis we are moving in the right direction, with the economy growing by 5.7 percent in the last quarter of 2009. Employers have stopped shedding jobs and I believe they will soon add to their payrolls. Yet I believe we can do more to create jobs.

Having talked regularly with small business leaders, economists and workforce development officials, I believe there are steps we can take to spur job creation.

It is clear that recovery and job creation will come from our small businesses. Small businesses generate 60 to 80 percent of the new jobs in this country. Unfortunately, when I meet with small business leaders from across central New Jersey they tell me they often cannot find the loans and credit the need to expand and hire more employees.

In Congress I have supported efforts to make it easier to access credit. As a member of the House Job Creation Task Force I voted for a bill that would eliminate fees on SBA loans and increase loan guarantees to increase lending to small businesses.

Additionally, I am working to help our businesses expand by strengthening the research and development (R&D) tax credit, which allows businesses to invest in innovation and, in the process, expand and hire new workers. Legislation I introduced would boost temporarily the most common form of the federal R&D tax credit, which would create 162,000 jobs in the short-term and increase the GDP by $90 billion, according to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. In addition, it would make the credit more useful for start-up businesses by allowing them to sell their unused tax credit, modeled after a successful New Jersey program.

Another bill I introduced would encourage small business investment by establishing a temporary 20 percent tax credit for investments in research-intensive small businesses. This legislation builds on a successful state initiative in New Jersey and 17 other states.

In addition to these bills, I have held regular workshops for small businesses to hear what services are available that can help them. I held a workshop in Manalapan this January where more than 100 small business owners learned about loan programs available through the SBA and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. This April, I am holding an event for small businesses to learn about how to export their products.

These are some ideas for job creation solutions, but I always want to hear other ideas.

Unemployment in New Jersey is greater than 10 percent. Saying we need job stimulus at this time is an understatement. With President Obama’s “tax credits for jobs” proposal, taxpayers will be asked to dig deeper into their pockets to help pay for a bloated and ineffective spending package.

President Obama has openly said the first stimulus was not effective in creating jobs – “You can argue, rightly, that we haven’t made as much progress as we need to make when it comes to spurring job creation.” It’s a shame the president didn’t come to this realization before spending $787 billion of taxpayer dollars on a stimulus program that failed to create jobs, leading to 10 percent national unemployment.

Some will try to defend last year’s stimulus by saying that while it hasn’t created any new jobs, it’s “saved” some jobs that would have otherwise been lost. Yet the stimulus’ defenders are using the same flawed models to account for these saved jobs as those that predicted the stimulus would mean an 8 percent unemployment rate instead of the near 10 percent rate with which we are now saddled.

President Obama’s stimulus promotes uncertainty in the marketplace by creating a cycle of hiring and firing for the sake of receiving a one-time tax credit. While this temporary wage subsidy in the legislation may create a spike in employment, it will cost taxpayers an estimated $13.4 billion.

History has demonstrated that the most effective way to reinvigorate the economy and spur economic growth is to ensure that job creators face a lower tax and regulatory burden.

When the Carter administration tried this approach in the 1970s, employment levels temporarily increased by 1.5 percent before they plummeted significantly. Americans need permanent jobs and certain futures. This kind of reckless spending will ensure unsustainable debt that will eventually topple our economy, not unlike the situation that is starting to unfold in Europe.

Greece has been in the news lately about possibly defaulting on its obligations, but Greece is only the tip of the iceberg. Even more significant economies, including Italy and Spain, among others, also are showing serious strains because they ignored their spending problems for too long.

With our $1.6 trillion deficit, and without a serious commitment to cut spending by this administration or the majority party in this Congress,

Moody’s recently warned that the United States’ AAA credit rating is in jeopardy. People around the world are starting to whisper that if things don’t change soon, the U.S. may default on its debts in the coming years or do serious damage to our already weak economy through significantly higher interest rates and/or inflation. Who will bail out entire countries when they collapse?

Congress and the administration must pass an economic package that actually works to stimulate our economy long term and is fiscally responsible. Protecting and securing America’s jobs is the taxpayer-friendly approach to accomplishing this.

Last January I introduced the Economic Recovery and Middle-Class Tax Relief Act. This bill, with its emphasis on America’s small business and middle class, is a commonsense approach to protecting and preserving American jobs. It focuses on broad, growth-oriented, permanent incentives for economic activity across all sectors and industries.

Provisions center around three main themes: support for families through tax relief, economic relief for American businesses and entrepreneurs, and protection for future generations from a crushing debt burden. This is not the time to bog down the very markets we rely on to produce jobs.

If the president is admitting failure of one of the primary goals of the first stimulus why is the American public supposed to believe it will work this time around? It is time for the administration and congressional leadership to stop endangering our financial future and start creating a solid foundation where American businesses can grow, flourish and, most importantly, create jobs.

Merck & Co., Inc. recently received a 2010 ENERGY STAR® Sustained Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the company’s continued efforts to protect the environment through energy efficiency.

Merck, an ENERGY STAR partner since 2004, has been recognized by the EPA five consecutive years – twice as Partner of the Year and now for the third time for Sustained Excellence. In November 2009 Merck completed its merger with Schering-Plough Corporation. Schering-Plough also was an ENERGY STAR partner and earned the 2009 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year award.

The 2010 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award recognizes the accomplishments of the energy efficiency programs at Merck and Schering-Plough, and the integration of these awardwinning programs into a single program that preserves and builds upon the best practices of both, according to Rodney Freeman, vice president, global facilities management, Merck & Co., Inc.

“Managing energy use is consistent with Merck’s values as a health care company and is critical to our business operations,” Freeman said. “Our partnership with ENERGY STAR is part Crown Bank Half Page - 04-10 - 1st Draft.pdf 1 3/4/2010 11:24:38 PM of our commitment to reduce the company’s environmental footprint – including energy use improvements, reduced water use and converting to renewable resources such as solar power.”

In announcing the award, Gina McCarthy, EPA assistant administrator for air and radiation, had high praise for the pharmaceutical company.

“Merck’s continued leadership and commitment to energy efficiency is a testament to what we can accomplish to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect our global environment,”

McCarthy said.

ENERGY STAR was introduced by the EPA in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through increased energy efficiency. Today ENERGY STAR offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money and help protect the environment for future generations. ENERGY STAR partners are committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes, buildings and businesses.

The Sustained Excellence Awards are given annually to a select group of organizations that have exhibited outstanding leadership year after year. The winners have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by setting and achieving aggressive goals, employing innovative approaches, and showing others what can be achieved through energy efficiency.

Merck’s world headquarters in Whitehouse Station qualified for the ENERGY STAR label in 2007 and 2008. The legacy Schering-Plough facility in Cleveland, Tennessee, earned an ENERGY STAR award in 2009 for ranking in the top 25 percent of pharmaceutical-plant energy performance nationwide. The plant used nearly 35 percent less energy than similar pharmaceutical plants across the country.

Merck is also a member of the EPA’s Climate Leaders and Climate RESOLVE programs.