[thx to County Legislators Kris Munn, Rebecca Edwards, Randy Johnson, Nick Page, and Frits Zernike for signing on to my letter at last night's Co. Leg. mtg. calling for a public hearing on County Comptroller Robin Lois' new audit of our county's Industrial Development Agency and Local Development Corporation-- pls email all 25 of us at [email protected] to help build support on this-- so actual resolution can be passed on this (Mon. deadline for co-sponsors!)]
[great testimony here too on this last night from Pam Kingsley: should be Co. Leg.:
[IDA/LDC audit: County Comptroller Robin Lois & Deputy Comptroller Karl Schlegel
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[here's my letter-- signed last night by Kris, Rebecca, Randy, Nick, and Frits]
The Honorable Marcus Molinaro
Dutchess County Executive
22 Market Street
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
Dear County Executive Molinaro:
We, the various undersigned members of the Dutchess County Legislature, ask you to work with us to co-host a public hearing (in the evening so local taxpayers can attend) on the Dutchess County Comptroller’s just-released audit on the Dutchess County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) and Local Development Corporation (LDC). According to the Dutchess County Comptroller’s audit, “the LDC and IDA ended 2017 with over $7,000,000 in combined cash and current assets.” Bonura and Dibrizzi were projected by DCIDA to create 10 jobs-- instead they lost 57 jobs, and Arbor Ridge at Brookmeade was projected by DCIDA to create 24 jobs-- they only created 18 jobs. We believe our county government could and should be doing much more through its economic development efforts instead to help small businesses, microentrepreneurs, and non-polluting projects.
The Dutchess County Local Development Corporation has issued over a billion dollars’ worth of Original Issue Bonds over the last eight years for 22 different projects ($114 million last year, $429 million in 2016, $105 million in 2015, $54 million in 20145, $176 million in 2013, $40 million in 2012, $43 million in 2011, and $75 million in 2010)— including bonds for Health Quest ($514 million), Marist College ($153 million), Bard College ($136 million), Vassar College ($87 million), Culinary Institute of America ($52 million), Anderson Center for Autism ($29 million), Dutchess Community College ($27 million), Millbrook School ($23 million), Hudson Valley Property Holdings LLC ($23 million), Elant at Fishkill ($22 million), Trinity-Pawling School ($18 million), and Poughkeepsie Day School ($3 million); Michael Shuman/Institute for Local Self-Reliance offer alternatives.
Furthermore, the Comptroller’s audit shows how generous DCIDA was last year with some firms’ tax breaks:
GPSDC (The Gap): $14.2 million in tax exemptions in 2017 for $206 million projects (fire/distribution center).
IBM: $10.8 million in tax exemptions in 2017 alone for its $82 million projects (equipment/upgrades/software).
Bonura and Dibrizzi got $967,725 in tax exemptions in 2017 alone for its $6.5 million project (hotel and garage).
Davies South Terrace got $511,731 in tax exemptions in 2017 alone for its $8.6 million project (housing facility).
Arbor Ridge at Brookmeade: $429,881 in tax exemptions in 2017 alone for $20.3 million project (senior living).
Neptune Capital Investors, LLC got $429,274 in tax exemptions in 2017 alone for its $6.7 million project.
Jaleli, LLC/Hudson Valley Lighting got $293,388 in tax exemptions in 2017 alone for its $17.3 million project.
Adams Fairacre Farms: $251,558 in tax exemptions in 2017 alone for its $18 million project (purpose not listed).
Mechtronics Corporation: $236,046 in tax exemptions in 2017 alone for its $7 million project (went out of biz).
Health Quest/Vassar Bros. Medical Center got $148,212 in tax exemptions in 2017 for its $8.8 million project.
Built Parcel Three/Four LLC (Tinkelman) got $106,351 in tax exemptions in 2017 for its $4.9 million project.
Empire Hotel Development: $87,221 in tax exemptions in 2017 alone for its $10.5 million project (93-rm. hotel).
Cardinal Court Apartments LLC got $81,783 in tax exemptions in 2017 alone (40 Cannon St. Poughkeepsie).
Parker/Hamilton Corp. got $65,323 in tax exemptions in 2017 (purchase and renovation of existing facility).
The DCIDA also unanimously approved this year Real Property Tax PILOT’s, Sales Tax Exemptions, and Mortgage Tax Exemptions for $88 million Eastdale Village/Meadow View Properties. $23 million 165 Overlook, LLC in LaGrange, $26 million Asahishuzo International brewery in Hyde Park, and $30 million T-Rex Hotel in Hyde Park across from CIA. It’s time to find a way to help local small businesses here just as much as big firms.
The audit also points out that Cricket Valley got $100.9 million in tax exemptions in 2017 alone for its $1.1 billion project-- a 1100-megawatt frack-gas power plant that has already been permitted by NYSDEC to annually emit 200 tons of nitrogen oxide and 60 tons of volatile organic chemicals (NOx and VOC’s together make smog/ozone), 382 tons of particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10), 46 tons of sulfur dioxide, 569 tons of carbon monoxide, 3.5 million tons of carbon dioxide, and millions more tons from leakage of CO2 from pipelines feeding the plant—in spite of the fact that the New York Independent System Operator made clear last year that energy from Cricket Valley is not necessary to replace Indian Point (Dutchess air quality now “D”: ALANY).
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[public hearing re: proposed grant of financial assistance to GPSDC (The Gap) this Friday, Oct. 12th 9:30 am in offices of Rose and Kiernan, Inc. 60 Merritt Blvd. Second Floor Suite 202 (Fishkill)-- show up, surprise 'em (yes public allowed there!)
[Erie County decided to mandate pay equity before IDA assistance; why not here?
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[more here below from County Comptroller Robin Lois re: DCIDA & DCLDC]
The IDA should undertake a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of their Uniform Tax Exemption Policy. Opportunities exist for the Board to specically review the nature and types of deviations that applicants regularly seek, as well as the type of projects that the board would like to encourage within the County and update the Policy accordingly. Additionally, the IDA may choose to include frameworks and categories for exemptions and bene ts based upon industry, economic distress in the geographic location of the project, and/or overall jobs to be created.
Observations/Findings [re: Dutchess County Local Development Corporation]
Written board minutes were not comprehensive and transparent regarding financial decisions or discussions of the agency’s internal operations.
Board minutes posted to the agency’s and the corporation’s websites did not include copies of the monthly nancial statements presented to each board, including a detail of revenue and expense by category and the statement of position.
A summary of written discussions during Board meetings about specific projects with board actions and concerns were not consistently documented in the minutes which did not allow for comprehensive and transparent reporting.
While LDC board minutes included approval of the Chief Executive O cer’s salary, they did not include approval and discussion of the Chief Financial O cer’s salary as required by Article X, Section 2 of the By-Laws. In addition, best practices for the disclosure of each employee’s salary and bene ts were not followed each year.
Board approval of the LDC’s fringe benefit package for employees was not consistently stated annually in the written board minutes.
When a board member recused themselves, the minutes did not re ect the reason for recusal as dictated in the By-Laws and Con ict of Interest Policy for the LDC.
All board members had completed and signed conflict of interest questionnaires as dictated by the By-Laws and Con ict of Interest Policy.
The Board Chairman did not ask for disclosures at the commencement of each board meeting.
One board member did not list two projects on their Conflict of Interest Questionnaire that have business dealings with the LDC and/or IDA and continue to appear in the schedule of conduit debt for the organizations. The website for the board member’s company lists both of these projects as clients.
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DCIDA board at its Aug. 7th mtg. unanimously approved Real Property Tax PILOT, Sales Tax Exemption, and Mortgage Tax Exemption for $88 million Eastdale Village/Meadow View Properties mixed-use 390-unit apartment complex as part of Town of Poughkeepsie Town Center.
DCIDA board at its June 27th mtg. unanimously approved Real Property Tax PILOT, Mortgage Tax Exemption and Sales Tax Exemption for $23 million 165 Overlook, LLC commercial/residential new construction in LaGrange-- and Real Property Tax PILOT, Mortgage Tax Exemption and Sales Tax Exemption for Asahishuzo International sake brewery and associated tourism element @ 5 St. Andrews Road in Hyde Park.
DCIDA board at its June 6th mtg. unanimously approved Real Property Tax PILOT, Mortgage Tax Exemption and Sales Tax Exemption for $30 million T-Rex Hotel in Hyde Park across from CIA.
