BUFFALO, N.Y. — Despite some pessimistic returns to its annual poll of upstate CEOs, the Siena College Research Institute said it’s business as usual for most employers.

"It doesn't mean by any chance that the cash register's not going to ring. Commerce is strong here in Buffalo," Director Don Levy said.

Overall confidence fell six points, dropping below the Institute's so-called breakeven point of 100 at which optimism and pessimism are balanced.

"We saw that a year ago the expectations were a little bit unmet over 2017, some frustration that the health care cost wasn't resolved at a national level and the year just didn't quite live up to their expectation," Levy said.

In Buffalo, where CEOs gathered Wednesday for a panel discussion, the lack of confidence was most pronounced. The index decreased to 87.6, more than 12 points below breakeven and a total drop of 18.7 from the year before.

"Still we see about a quarter of Buffalo CEOs are quite optimistic, robustly optimistic. What we saw was a slight growth in the percentage who were pessimistic," Levy said.

In general, the cost of health care and federal budget uncertainty remain national concerns for business leaders, but their confidence in congress' ability to improve conditions is actually up seven points to 39 percent from last year. Levy said the survey was taken as the new federal tax code was still being negotiated but a plurality still said the federal government was on the right track in terms of lowering corporate taxes.

"For us, it's been great because I can put more capital back into the business, which will help us dramatically. I hope that the state gets on board at some point and follows suit with certain things so that they can alleviate some of those pressures from us," Applied Sciences CEO Julie Dotton said.

On the other hand, only 16 percent have the same confidence in New York State to improve the climate. CEOs cited concerns over inadequate workers' compensation reform, new paid family leave legislation and proposed changes to employee scheduling regulations.

"The state has done some regulations this year that scare people because it is very difficult to put in place something that's generated in an office building in Albany when you're trying to run a business that's dynamic," NOCO Energy Owner Michael Newman said.