BORDER-DEPENDENT BUSINESSES
AND PUBLIC AGENCIES

This sector includes Canadian-owned businesses of all types located in Clinton County, American-owned International border businesses, and Public sector border-related agencies located in Clinton County. This sector does not include self-employed Canadians in Clinton County. International border businesses include: private sector customs brokers, warehousers, freight forwarders, truckers, duty free shops, and consultants (other than lawyers and accountants). Public border-related agencies include: Immigration and Naturalization, U.S. Customs, U.S. Border Patrol, General Services Administration, Food and Drug Administration, US Department of Agriculture, Federal Bureau of Investigations, and the Clinton County Sheriff Department’s Lake Champlain Boat Patrol.

The replication study utilizes two separate lists of Canadian-owned businesses (COBs). One list has 114 COBs identified as operating in Clinton County. This list includes 20 COBs named by one local businessman only for the purposes of collecting employment and payroll from the NYS Department of Labor and real estate appraised value data from the Clinton County Real Property Tax Office. A shorter list of 94 COBs, not including the 20 COBs confidentially identified, was used in mail surveys for assessing economic impact on the Culture and Education, Financial and Professional Services, Retail and Tourism sectors.

In 1996 twice as many COBs were identified as operating in Clinton County as in 1994.

At the time of the original study, the Chamber identified 58 COBs in Clinton County, four of which went out of business prior to 1996. It is not clear that all of the 60 additional COBs were established after 1994. It is possible that some were operating in Clinton County but not identified by the Chamber for the original study.

The development of the listings of Canadian-owned businesses, international border businesses, and public sector border-related agencies is critical to the accuracy of this study. The list of Canadian-owned businesses was provided by the Chamber of Commerce. This list was reviewed and updated by the Canadian Connection Advisory Committee. In the course of preparing this study, however, certain businesses were found to be defunct and other Canadian-owned companies were reported that had not been included in the Chamber’s list. Future updates of the list by the Chamber should include consultation with law firms who perform incorporations for Canadian companies.

Compilation of the list of international border businesses was preceded by conversations with the Canadian Connection Advisory Committee to identify the categories of business to be included in this list (see above). The Chamber then compiled a list of said businesses and the Advisory Committee reviewed and added five firms to the list. Alan Biedeck of the NYS Department of Labor (NYS DOL) compared this list with the NYS DOL databases for specific SIC codes related to each business category. NYS DOL found 52 firms in their SIC database that did not appear on the international border businesses list. Unfortunately, confidentiality restrictions prevented NYSDOL from identifying these businesses by name. NYS DOL sent a letter to each of the 52 requesting permission to be included in the Chamber’s list. The seven firms that responded positively were included in the list used for this replication. Thus the International border businesses (IBBs) list identifies 70 firms including 13 firms not identified for the original study.

The public border-related agencies list was derived jointly by YWA and the Chamber. The list was reviewed by the Canadian Connection Advisory Committee and is essentially complete and accurate. In some cases, the agency name as appearing on the list was slightly different from the identification used by DOL for payroll records. There were no additions or deletions to the list of 10 public border-related agencies used in both the original and replication study.

The lists used for this study of Canadian-owned businesses, international border businesses, and public agencies are included in the Appendix to this report. The firms on the lists are marked to indicate whether they were included in the original study lists or are additions to the lists for this replication.

Indicators

Employment and Payroll

Total employment in Canadian-owned businesses in Clinton County increased by 353 employees from 1994 to 1996. This increase reflects the expansion of 7 jobs by Canadian-owned businesses included in the original study and the establishment of 346 new jobs by Canadian-owned businesses not identified for the original study. Total payroll of Canadian owned businesses in Clinton County was 39% higher in 1996 than 1994. Payroll of the original list of Canadian-owned businesses increased by $4,213,859 or 35% of the total increase in payroll from 1994-1996. The remainder $7,763,449 or 65% of the increase in payroll represents new Canadian-owned businesses identified for the replication.

International border-businesses in Clinton County employed 98 more employees in 1996 than in 1994. This increase reflects a decrease of 42 jobs by International border-businesses included in the original study and the establishment of 140 new jobs by International border-businesses not identified for the original study. Total 1996 payroll of International border-businesses increased by 16% over 1994. Payroll of the original list of International border-businesses increased by $498,932 or 17% of the total increase in payroll from 1994-1996. The remainder $2,377,694 or 83% of the increase in payroll represents new International border-businesses identified for this replication.

Public Border-Related Agencies in Clinton County, New York for Calendar Years 1994,1996

Total employment and payroll for Public border-related agencies in Clinton County did not vary greatly from 1994 to 1996. Eight fewer people were employed in the sector, but an 11% rise in payroll occurred from 1994 to 1996.

Note: Employment includes the number of full-time and part-time employees earning wages or salaries for the payroll period including the 12th of the month. Payrolls cover all wages and salaries paid to individuals in insured employment. This includes employees’ contributions to Social Security and Medicare.

The shares of total employment and total payroll in Clinton County related to Canadian-owned businesses have both increased by 1.7% since 1994. The greatest increase relates to new and expanded Canadian-owned businesses operating in Clinton County.

Methodological Notes:

Data on employment and payroll was provided by the New York State Department of Labor (NYS DOL) in Saranac Lake based on lists provided by Yellow Wood Associates. The lists provided to NYS DOL indicated which firms had been on the original lists and which were new additions for this replication. The Department of Labor found some businesses not on the lists and some listed businesses that could not be found in DOL records. The lists have been revised when permission for disclosure was given by the corresponding firms. DOL carefully disaggregated employment for Clinton County only, wherever businesses have more than one location. The procedure took approximately one and half months to complete and cost $300.

Recommendations for Replication:

The next time the Chamber wishes to replicate these indicators, the lists should be updated and sent to NYSDOL with instructions to reproduce, as closely as possible, the breakdowns provided for the baseline indicators. The lists should identify those firms that were included in the lists for the original study as well as this first replication.