I should say my new full value assesment went down which made my tax rate and other bs go down.

Dont worry, it will go down further...we will just have to pay for our own bank assessments....the government cannot overvalue what the banks are willing to invest in.......here comes the dollar store re-val......everyone will be missing the high appraisals soon......when the couches start appearing on the porches

I didn't see many people at th etOwn Board meeting Wednesday but there was a discussion about the PILOT that may warrant catching the taped replay.  Surprisingly, no one seems to have seen the actual agreement yet which is disconcerting.

Quoted Text

ROTTERDAM
Official: SI Group violated tax agreement
Company gives up plan that was supposed to create jobs

BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter

    The SI Group has abandoned plans to build a $12 million “green fuel” boiler at its Rotterdam Junction facility, prompting a town official to say the company has violated a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement linked to the job-creating project.
    The Rotterdam Industrial Development Agency approved the PILOT agreement in 2008. The PILOT agreement grants the SI Group property tax breaks worth approximately $4.2 million over 15 years on its 40-acre property, and it resolved the company’s tax challenges with the town over property assessments.
    In return, the SI Group told the Rotterdam IDA in 2008 that the project would create seven fulltime, permanent jobs and lower its energy costs, helping the plant to remain competitive. This, in turn, would allow the company to retain 182 positions at the Rotterdam Junction facility.
    SI Vice President William Scheffer said the company abandoned the alternative energy project because of economics.
    “We are still exploring alternative projects,” he said.
    Juliana Lam, SI Group spokeswoman, said the company was not prepared to say whether the alternative projects would create jobs.
    Scheffer said the PILOT agreement remains unaffected, despite the end of the green fuel project.
    “The PILOT is a long-term look at a tax structure. It was not entirely based on a green fuel boiler. It made payments to the town in lieu of us taking legal action,” he said.
    Scheffer said the PILOT agreement “was constructed in good faith with many objectives with both sides. It is still the appropriate instrument for the town and the SI group.”
    Deputy Town Supervisor Robert Godlewski believes otherwise and has asked the Rotterdam IDA to revoke the PILOT agreement.
    “The issue is they did not build the facility. The only economic development has been a fi nancial benefit for the company by it not paying taxes,” he said.
    “There has got to be a payback for the town. They are getting a tax credit because they agreed to do something,” Godlewski said.
    The Rotterdam IDA board is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. Thursday at Town Hall.
    An audit completed by the state Comptroller’s Office and released Monday states that the SI Group employed 171 people at the facility in 2008 — 11 positions fewer than it had before the PILOT agreement was approved.
    Rotterdam IDA Chairman Robert Mallozzi said the board is investigating the situation and he was not prepared to comment.
    “We heard the project is not go- ing forward and are investigating to confirm,” he said.
    Godlewski said the PILOT agreement is especially burdensome to the Schalmont Central School District. The agreement removed the Rotterdam Junction facility from school tax rolls. SI Group, however, agreed to pay $30,000 to Schalmont to help mitigate the anticipated loss of $152,000 in taxes under the agreement.
    Angelo Santabarbara was chairman of the Rotterdam IDA when it approved the PILOT agreement. He no longer is on the board, but on Tuesday he said if the SI Group is “not in compliance, the IDA board will have to evaluate what options it has.”
    Then-Town Supervisor Steven Tommasone pushed for the PILOT agreement, saying it would keep an important employer in town. County Attorney Chris Gardner at the time called the PILOT agreement excessive after considering the low level of economic development the SI Group has offered. He also questioned why the company would require such a tax break after receiving a hefty state grant. ...................>>>>....................>>>>.................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00900&AppName=1

County Democrats seem to be conducting an all out assault on Rotterdam to help the incompetent town board that they help prop up save face.  Savage with the announcement at Capitol Plaza, the Comptroller rolling out this audit, and now the Gazette cuts loose hatchet man Lamendola and writes an article laced with quotes of Democrats saying “I told you so”, and blaming the previous Tommasone administration.

Just an observation.

This town board should be very careful of allowing the Dems that have all but destroyed the city to start calling the shots for Rotterdam. When you sleep with dogs you end up with fleas every time.

Well well well. The chickens have come home to roost. First and foremost this deal was cooked up by Parisi and Angelo over the objections of BG and the former assessor. This was the reason Craig Surprise was brought in. He signed off on the deal.   How the hell is GP and Ang gonna wiggle out of this one.  I also hear that former town officials are working with whistleblower protection.  WOW. Looking good for Amedore and not so good for Ang and GP.  Syanorra

I know that our elected officials are the keepers and protecters of tax payer's monies, and that they are first and foremost responsible for this mess..... but I'm also pissed at the si group for not following through on their promise, to the rotterdam taxpayers when they came begging for a tax break!

And GP is going to campaign on term limits and a salary reduction for public servants???????  He's kidding, right? And AS was right in on it!!! Wonder what AS will campaign on.....autism?

Bulls-h-i-t Bumble, one of the first things Surprise did was attend a meeting with GP his first week on the job.  Check the PILOT agreement you idiot.  Surprise signed it and certified the assessment.  Bought off by GP and AS the first week on the job.  GP will have to throw him under the bus for the Assembly conspiracy plan to continue.  Mark my words BT.  Surprise is TOAST and will fall on the sword at GP's request.

Well, it appears that the si group owes rotterdam/schalmont mega bucks!!!! Which will either be played out in court OR si will just move out. I think I remember that that was their threat back then.

And it is becoming more apparent that GP will throw ANYBODY under the bus for his own political/personal gain. Time will tell all!

Quoted from bumblethru

Well, it appears that the si group owes rotterdam/schalmont mega bucks!!!! Which will either be played out in court OR si will just move out. I think I remember that that was their threat back then.

         It should also be noted that the "tax rebate" should be credited to property owners tax bill directly, we do not want this money merely going into the General Fund.  If the money ends up in the General Fund, the residents will never see a penny in savings because the Town/School will absorb that money into expanded budgets!

ya, that'll happen as soon as a municipality LOWERS a tax - or removes a tax.  Ain't happening, never has, never will

Hey Bumble...question:  How much would SI Group owe the school if they moved their plant to North Carolina???   Answer: about as much as the new Golub facility pays the Town when they moved it to the city cause Golub hated you...oh Im sorry..I meant hated John Mertz

Quoted from bumblethru

I know that our elected officials are the keepers and protecters of tax payer's monies, and that they are first and foremost responsible for this mess..... but I'm also pissed at the si group for not following through on their promise, to the rotterdam taxpayers when they came begging for a tax break!

         Part of the PILOT agreement included the dedicated land for the water tower.  The Town never investigated if the property was suitable to support such a heavy loading.  The SI agreement only allows for a 7.5% penalty for failing to deliver on the PILOT, so there penalty is a nominal tax write off.  The legal issues within the PILOT are such that it is unlikely that Rotterdam/Schalmont can recoup any significant monies.  This was the prior IDA Board, and prior Town Board's debacle.  So they "stuck" the Town with a parcel that was unsuitable for the water tower (admittedly the Town's fault), they never delivered on their wood boiler to energy project which was the main foundation for the PILOT, AND, they lost 18 jobs since the beginning of their PILOT.  Rotterdam hoodwinked again at the taxpayer's expense!

Quoted Text

ROTTERDAM
PILOT penalty may be ahead
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter

    The SI Group could face a monetary penalty for not constructing a $12 million “green fuel” boiler as part of its payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with the Rotterdam Industrial Development Agency, IDA officials said Thursday night.
    The penalty is contained in a 2008 agreement in which the SI Group agreed to build the boiler by a certain date, promising to create seven jobs, at its Rotterdam Junction facility. It’s subject to negotiations and cannot exceed 7.5 percent of the total amount of the annual payment, according to the PILOT agreement.
    The company told the town approximately five months ago it was not proceeding with the project. The IDA learned about the aborted project this week when Deputy Town Supervisor Robert Godlewski brought it to light.
    Ray Gillen, chairman of the Metroplex Development Authority, said Metroplex offi cials will meet with the SI Group next week. “We want to hear them out, hear what their explanations are. They are a big and important employer in the county,” Gillen said.
    Gillen attended the IDA’s meeting Thursday. Metroplex began administering the IDA through contract in March.
    Gillen said discussions would also determine whether the penalty would apply retroactively or to future payments, if at all.
    In a written statement, the SI Group said it continues to support the PILOT agreement. “SI Group has not violated the provisions of the PILOT agreement. Although the biomass boiler will not be implemented as anticipated, alternative projects are still under consideration and the fundamental drivers of the PILOT agreement are still valid,” according to the statement.
    The PILOT agreement sparked controversy when it was signed in 2008, mostly because of its payment schedule to Rotterdam, Schenectady County and the Schalmont school district.
    The schedule locks in the SI Group’s annual payments through 2022, making them immune to changes in full value or tax rates during the terms of the PILOT agreement. In several years, the SI Group’s payments actually decrease. For example, the SI Group paid $660,000 in total to the town, county and school district in 2008. This year, it will pay $625,000, and it will pay $590,000 in 2011 and 2012.
    The payment increases to $670,000 in 2013 but drops to $630,000 in each of 2014, 2015 and 2016. It then increases gradually to the final payment of $840,000 in 2022.
    SI Group will pay approximately $10.3 million, separate from any penalty assessment, to the town, county and school district in lieu of property taxes during the agreement, saving $4.2 million.
    Metroplex Executive Director Jayme Lahut called the payment schedule uncommon, even “rare,” and Gillen called many provisions in the PILOT agreement unusual.
    “There are things in this PILOT I would have done different,” Gillen said.
    IDA board member Brian Mc-Garry said of the PILOT agreement, “It sounds like a private business pulled one over people who were not competent.”
    Angelo Santabarbara was IDA chairman and Gerard Parisi was IDA attorney when the PILOT agreement was approved. Neither returned phone calls for comment. ....................>>>>...................>>>>...........http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00902&AppName=1