ROTTERDAM Ruling favors towns in dispute Court upholds decision in GE property assessment BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net.
Schalmont school district and Rotterdam town officials say they are relieved the property assessment of General Electric's plant will remain at the value set by a state Supreme Court judge last year. However, a company spokeswoman says GE is not pleased and will study its next move. The finding by the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court last week affirmed the latest decision in years of dispute over the value of the plant; it straddles the city of Schenectady border with the largest part being in Rotterdam. GE officials had argued their plant was worth about $30.8 million on the open market. They stressed the plant, if vacated, wouldn't be nearly as valuable as the $249 million and $251 million the town had valued it in 2003 and 2004. But GE still uses the plant, which includes more than 1.9 million square feet of space. Therefore, the roughly 325 acres and 43 buildings are worth more than four times what the company argues as the market value were it left dormant, the court affirmed. The decision upholds a 2007 ruling by Judge Vincent Reilly Jr., who set the property value at $126.4 million in 2003 and $129 million in 2004. This was a reduction of 2 percent and 10 percent respectively. While the decision granted GE's argument that their property had devalued, it also made note of the $59 million worth of improvements made between 1999 and 2003. Of this investment, the company spent about $49 million on Building 273, a structure that is equivalent to 24 football fields long and contains GE's steam turbine and generator plant. The ruling is also likely cancel litigation with GE regarding the property assessments in 2005, 2005 and 2007, according to Rotterdam Town Assessor Craig Surprise and Robert Beebe, the attorney who represented the town. "If a property owner obtains a reduction, the resulting new assessment is maintained for three years," Beebe said, citing state Real Property law. PRECEDENT SETTING Beebe said the decision could also set a legal precedent. He said municipalities across the state will now have a basis to argue assessment proceedings against large industrial property owners, which contest their property values on similar grounds as GE. "It's a decision that stretches far beyond the bounds of Rotterdam," he said. GE spokeswoman Jan Smith said the company's attorneys were not pleased by the decision and will review it to decide a plan of action. She said GE officials still maintain the town has vastly overvalued the property. "Over the past dozen years or so, we've continued to be disappointed that the Rotterdam assessment continues to be excessive," she said. Monday. Following last year's ruling in state Supreme Court, company officials indicated their Rotterdam property was valued at greater than 50 percent of the other large industrial properties GE owns in the United States. Smith declined to speculate whether the decision would prevent the company from arguing the three years of assessments between 2005 and 2007; GE has already filed for a reduction in its 2008 property value. Neither town or officials from the Schalmont Central School District were certain how much they would owe GE in a refund. Schalmont Superintendent Valerie Kelsey said the district is still reviewing the decision. "It appears to be favorable to us," she said. At least more favorable than a 2002 court ruling, which forced the district to refund $11.6 million in tax payments made between 1992 and 2001. The district took out a 20-year loan to repay $6.15 million of the tax refund not covered by a reserve, and $1.55 million was waived by GE as a "gift" to the district. Rotterdam Supervisor Steve Tommasone was also pleased with the appellate court decision. He estimated the town's refund to GE could be in the "tens of thousands of dollars," but was far less than the liability Rotterdam was facing were the Reilly ruling overturned. "The town did very well in the settlement in that we don't have a lot to refund," he said. Despite years of legal wrangling over the assessment, Tommasone said the town still regards GE as good corporate resident. He said the town looks forward to cooperating with the company in endeavors such as the state-of-the-art wind turbine proposed on property near Interstate 890. "Obviously, this is a very unique industrial complex between Rotterdam and Schenectady," he said. "We've been fortunate to have them there as an employer."
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