Saratoga Business Journal

Business Report: Tips For A Better Tax Return

March 4, 2016November 8, 2017

John Conroe c.jpg

John Conroe, financial planner and investment officer, Adirondack Trust Co.Courtesy Adirondack Trust Co.

By JOHN CONROE, CFP, AFIM

If you’re like most working Americans, you’ve already seen the signs–your W2 has come in the mail, you’re seeing pop-up accounting shops, and advertisements for DIY tax software is ubiquitous. There’s no denying it: It’s tax season.

Whether you love it or hate it, taxes, for many people, translate to a refund. But before you go spending your hard-earned and returned cash, consider having a plan that can help you in the long run, and even increase its value over time.

Here are a few ideas on how to better use your tax refund, straight from our Adirondack Trust Investments experts:

â€¢ Double your tax benefit with a Roth IRA. If you qualify for a Roth IRA, tax season is an excellent time to take advantage. By funneling your tax return into a Roth IRA, you will enjoy doubled tax benefits with tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawal. Win-win.

â€¢ Triple your tax efficiency with an HSA. In our last issue of e-Insight, we discussed the basics of a health savings account. If your healthcare plan allows you to contribute to an HSA, you can really get more bang for your buck if you use your tax refund to help fund this account. Not only are your contributions to your HSA tax deductible, but they grow and can be withdrawn tax-free. That’s what we call win-win-win.

Unemployment Insurance Contributions To Drop Again For Businesses In The State

March 4, 2016November 8, 2017

Unemployment insurance reforms started in 2013 have resulted in additional savings for New York state employers in terms of their contributions, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Employers have already saved an estimated $200 million through the early repayment of federal debt with each saving, on average, an estimated total of $1,200 or $84 per employee, according to Cuomo. As a result, the unemployment insurance contribution rate schedules have been adjusted downward, further reducing costs and saving employers up to an additional $42.80 per employee.

Additionally, the state Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, which pays out benefits to claimants and is funded by employer contributions, ended the year with a positive balance for the first time in six years.

“Our commitment to reducing the cost of doing business in New York is paying dividends in growing our economy,” said Cuomo. “The unemployment insurance reforms we put in place in 2013, coupled with record jobs growth and controlled government spending have resulted in year-over-year savings to businesses. Now, New York businesses can reinvest these savings into their operations and employees, further strengthening our economy.”

Unemployment Insurance contribution rates paid by employers are determined by their individual experience in the system and by the level of reserves in the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. Over the past five years, employers paid higher contribution rates because the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund’s deficit and the Great Recession’s high unemployment rates, state officials said.

Now that reforms have made the fund more sustainable, employers whose use of the system has been consistent in recent years will be assigned a lower rate.

Chef Danny Urschel Owns/Operates Intimate 'Mio Posto' Restaurant In Saratoga Springs

March 4, 2016November 8, 2017

By R.J. DELUKE

Chef Danny Urschel has spent his entire work life in the food business, even before his graduation from the American Culinary Institute in 1996.

“It’s something that I’ve always loved,” he said.

He’s been in the restaurant business since he left the institute. Now he is the proud owner of Mio Posto, an intimate Italian restaurant at 68 Putnam St. in Saratoga Springs. He runs it with his wife, Heidi.

He purchased the restaurant, located near the Saratoga Springs Public Library, in 2014. Before it was Mio Posto, the space was previously known as Lanci’s, and later 8 Tables.

Prior to the purchase, Urschel had been assisting previous Mio Posto owner Danny Petrosino from time to time, especially during the busy horse racing season.

Mio Posto is an intimate space–just eight tables–that has achieved high popularity in the city. Urschel said it has been the top-rated restaurant on internet website Trip Advisor.

SPAC Director Marcia White Will Step Down After The Upcoming 50th Anniversary Season

March 4, 2016November 8, 2017

Marcia White, SPAC President

Marcia White is entering her 12 season as SPAC president and executive director.Courtesy Colleen Brescia

Marcia J. White, president and executive director of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), is stepping down from her job at the end of 2016, SPAC’s 50th anniversary season.

This will be her 12th summer season at SPAC.

Hon. Susan Phillips Read, a retired associate judge of the state Court of Appeals and chairwoman of SPAC’s board of directors, said during the upcoming summer’s golden anniversary season, SPAC will “celebrate our many visionary leaders since 1966. Marcia is certainly one of them. Her imprint will remain long after her tenure at SPAC ends.”

“It has been a privilege and a joy of my life to lead, serve, and work for one of the most extraordinary performing arts centers in the world,” White said in February. “The Saratoga Performing Arts Center has enriched and enhanced the quality of life for millions of people since its founding 50 years ago. I have been truly blessed to have had the unique opportunity to work with SPAC’s passionate board, dedicated staff and the greater Capital Region Community, and I am immensely proud of all that we have accomplished together.”

She came to SPAC just prior to the 40th anniversary season, “and feel that the ideal time to depart is at the conclusion of SPAC’s 50th anniversary celebration season. While I feel my energies leading me in new directions, it’s with deeply bitter-sweet emotion that I announce my decision to leave SPAC,” said White.

White became president and executive director of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in March of 2005. With a leadership style developed during 20 years as a top-level political advisor and public relations strategist in the state Legislature, she ushered in a new era for SPAC, characterized by a strengthened financial picture, historic capital improvements, a robust educational focus, and artistic excellence, SPAC officials said.

Personnel Briefs: March 2016

March 4, 2016November 8, 2017

Roohan Realty announced that Meg Minehan was sworn in as a director for the Greater Capital Association of Realtors at an event at the Albany Country Club. She will serve a three-year term as a director and also serve...

Local Small Business Wins Free TV Ad On Super Bowl Sunday For Its 'Death Wish Coffee'

February 5, 2016November 29, 2017

Death Wish Coffee Co. will have a 30-second
television ad during Super Bowl 50 on CBS.

Round Lake-based Death Wish Coffee Co.
calls its product “the world’s strongest coffee,”
and soon people around the country–even
other parts of the world–will hear about it.

The company won a competition held by
software maker Intuit for a 30-second spot
during the third quarter of the Super Bowl 50
on Feb. 7. They beat more than 15,000 other
small businesses in voting by the public and
Intuit employees.

According to Adweek, companies are paying
CBS, the network carrying the big game
this year, $5 million or more for a 30-second
spot–a prohibitive price for a small business.
Last year’s Super Bowl had an audience of over
114 million people, officials said.

The Death Wish ad features a Viking ship
sailing on treacherous seas before segueing
into the moment of a man enjoying a cup of
the coffee.

It can be viewed at: www.smallbusinessbiggame.com/contests/sbbg.

Saratoga Home & Lifestyle Show Admission Is Now Free; Event Slated For February 26-28

February 5, 2016November 8, 2017

Spectators browse booths at last year’s
Saratoga Home & Lifestyle Show.

The Saratoga Home & Lifestyle Show, the
Saratoga Springs Rotary Club’s largest annual
fundraiser since 1973, will take place Feb. 26-28
at the Saratoga Springs City Center.

New this year, admission to the show is free
of charge, courtesy of the its major sponsor, the
Adirondack Trust Co.

Also new for 2016, the Rotary Club will host
a Fine Art & Crafts Show on the second floor
of the City Center, concurrent with the Home
& Lifestyle Show. The second floor will have
artisans such as painters, photographers, wood
crafters, sculptors, jewelers, botanical artists,
and wine and spirits makers selling their work.
Also on display will be artwork from Saratoga
Springs High School students.

The Home & Lifestyle event features 120
regional exhibitors showcasing a wide range
of home improvement services, décor and
furnishings, energy-saving products, outdoor
living and landscaping, family recreation, and
lifestyle products and services, as well as prizes.

Project Will Renovate, Modernize Caffè Lena, Plus Add Mixed-Use Structure On Phila Street

February 5, 2016November 8, 2017

This architect’s rendering shows a building proposed by Bonacio Construction that would include
eight residential units, coinciding with upgrades to CaffÃ¨ Lena, located just to its left.

BY R.J. DELUKE

“Our goal is that 50 years from now people
will still be flocking to this room,” CaffÃ¨
Lena Executive Director Sarah Craig said
at a Jan. 26 news conference, standing on
the stage of the historic folk music venue
on Phila Street in Saratoga Springs.

Those words were spoken at the announcement
of a $500,000 philanthropic
partnership between the venue and Saratoga’s
Bonacio Construction that will further
revitalize not only the 55-year-old CaffÃ¨,
but its neighborhood, because as part of
the Campaign for CaffÃ¨ Lena, Bonacio assumes
the CaffÃ¨’s parking lot at Phila and
Henry Streets.

Sonny Bonacio announced from the stage
plans to construct a mixed-use building,
which will feature an elevator and stairwell
shared with the CaffÃ¨, at 47 Phila. The apartment
space, with an address of 55 Phila St.,
will have eight residential units.

He said if all goes well, the project could
be started in the spring and completed in a
large part by the end of 2016, with interior
work being finished up into early 2017.

Annemarie Mitchell Of Legacy Timber Frames Given Award From National Builders Group

February 5, 2016November 8, 2017

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Annemarie Mitchell is president and CEO of
Legacy Timber Frames in Stillwater.

Annemarie Mitchell, president and CEO of
Legacy Timber Frames in Stillwater, was honored
as the Member of the Year for the Professional
Women in Building (PWB) Council of the National
Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Professional Women in Building members
work in all aspects of the building industry–as
owners, builders, remodelers, architects, suppliers,
marketing experts, designers and in finance
and real estate.

Mitchell was instrumental in forming a local
PWB council at the Capital Region Builders &
Remodelers Association (CRBA), and served as
the chairwoman for the council for four years.

More recently she served as president of
CRBA for two years and she remains an active
member in both the local and state associations.
She has received the CRBA Builder of the Year
Award and the Three-Legged Stool Award from
the New York State Builders Association honoring
her commitment to the building industry at
the local, state and national levels.

Chef Danny Petrosino Opens 'Osteria Danny' At 26 Henry Street Spot In Saratoga Springs

February 5, 2016November 8, 2017

Chef Danny Petrosino’s has opened Osteria,
a restaurant at 26 Henry St.

BY MAUREEN WERTHER

Danny and Patti Petrosino have opened their newest culinary venture, Osteria Danny, at 26 Henry St. in Saratoga Springs, formerly home to Capriccio Saratoga and Dine restaurant.

The Italian term “osteria” refers to places that serve mainly wine and simple food. The menus are typically short and focus on local specialties. Chef Danny Petrosino has been using local products for his entire culinary career.

A native of Amsterdam and graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Petrosino is a highly regarded chef who honed his culinary skills at such restaurants as Glen Sanders Mansion in Scotia and Saratoga National Golf Club. In 2012, his restaurant, Mio Posto, captured the attention of Bill Donovan, a faithful patron and one of the owners of Maestro’s at the Van Dam and Harvey’s Restaurant & Bar, both in Saratoga Springs.

In September of 2014, Petrosino sold Mio Posto to a colleague, Danny Urschel, who continued to run that establishment. Petrosino became executive chef of Maestro’s and Harvey’s. When Donovan and his partners decided to open Symphony Catering, Petrosino became its executive chef. He will continue to be in charge of menu development there, concurrent with the operation of Osteria Danny.