Quoted from benny salami

"The existence of an IDA in Rotterdam is most effective IF it was operated by the residents of the town." That's just the problem. The DEMS foolishly handed over control of the IDA to horrible Death Ray and Metrograft. One way Gillen strikes again!

Quoted from gadfly

The County will control land use decisions anyway...that's the whole idea...and it is the reason municipalities around the County have passed resolutions ceding this authority to the county. Gillen is merely a mouthpiece and a stooge.

Rotterdam passed such a resolution earlier this year, which gave the County this decision making power...then amended the resolution to shift this authority back to the Town "when Rotterdam can make better decisions"....since when are ROTTERDAM officials, residents, etc. NOT better equipped to make decision regarding planning/building/zoning in their own town???

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Planning must be done at the local level. This resolution is unconstitutional. Its more evidence of working together to destroy our property rights. Next we can expect 5 year Stalinist plans from these DEM morons. Metrograft is a bunch of termites. Once they get in everything is destroyed-it all becomes sawdust. This includes any possibility of making a profit.  Both the horrible RIDA and Metrograft should be destroyed by Gov Cuomo.

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This report supplies context for the current policy discussion on Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs),
details major process and accountability issues, describes efforts by the Offi ce of the State Comptroller
(OSC) to improve reporting quality and provides a summary of statistical and fi nancial information from
2004 IDA annual reports.
In 1969, legislation was enacted providing for the creation of IDAs to facilitate economic development
in specifi c localities, and delineating their powers and status as public benefi t corporations. The number
of IDAs has fl uctuated over time, and presently there are 115 active IDAs, with one in each of the State’s
counties, as well as a number of cities, towns and villages.
To improve economic conditions in their respective areas, IDAs generally attempt to attract, retain and
expand businesses within their jurisdictions through the provision of fi nancial incentives to private entities.
IDAs are legally empowered to buy, sell or lease property and to provide tax exempt fi nancing for approved
projects. Real property owned or controlled by IDAs is exempt from property and mortgage recording
taxes, and the value of these exemptions can be passed through to assisted businesses. Moreover, purchases
related to IDA projects can be exempt from State and local sales taxes.
While IDA properties are tax exempt, businesses occupying IDA-owned properties typically make paymentsin-
lieu-of-taxes (PILOTs) that are shared with the affected local tax jurisdictions (i.e., local governments)
within their area.
Each IDA is legally required to annually submit a fi nancial statement to OSC that includes data related to
the number of jobs created or retained and amount of all tax exemptions provided. These reports must
also be fi led with the Department of Economic Development (DED) and the governing body of the
sponsoring municipality.
Unfortunately, a number of studies have shown that inconsistent and inaccurate reporting has limited
the utility of the data available through these annual reports. For example, nearly 3,500 projects receive
IDA-related benefi ts, but unfortunately, many are not providing IDAs with the data they need to complete
their State reporting requirements. To address this problem, OSC initiated several measures designed to
improve the quality of the reports submitted by IDAs. Specifi cally, OSC sent out a description of common
reporting errors, as well as a report to each IDA of where problems had been found in its previous year’s
submission. Additionally, OSC enhanced its review procedures, improved its audit presence and increased
the amount of training it provided to IDAs.
As a result of these oversight and training efforts, the completeness and consistency of IDA reporting for
2004 showed a marked improvement over previous years. For example, for 2002, IDAs reported current
job data for only 58 percent of their projects; this has been increased to 88 percent in reports for 2004.
Nonetheless, of the 3,474 projects reported in 2004, 521 (15 percent) did not provide complete job data.
Thus, there is still a need for more complete and accurate reporting.
The overall effectiveness of IDA programs has been the subject of a number of studies, reports and audits.
Despite the enactment of reforms in the late 1980s and early 1990s, issues regarding IDA operations,
accountability and transparency persist. In addition, a number of policy concerns have been raised. Following

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• A lack of objective selection and evaluation data and criteria – The criteria by which IDAs
evaluate potential projects are not always clear and/or consistently used, and IDAs do not always
seem to make an attempt to evaluate the potential success of proposed projects.
o A 1999 OSC audit of IDAs in Erie County identifi ed numerous discrepancies regarding
project eligibility, reporting requirements and tax exemption requirements.1
o A 2004 audit of the Niagara County IDA credited both its decision to devote a substantial
amount of fi scal and staff resources to a project with an uncertain outcome and its poor
fi nancial management practices with the IDA’s debilitated fi nancial condition.2
o A 2004 audit of fi ve Capital Region IDAs noted inconsistencies in the type and amount of
data required of applicants and found that four of the fi ve IDAs did not develop formal
project evaluation criteria (e.g., job targets, wage levels, etc.), and that none of the IDAs kept
documentation that indicated how the claims of project applicants were verifi ed.3
o A 2006 audit of six IDAs found that all but one failed to develop and employ formal project
evaluation criteria.4
• PILOTs – Various studies and audits have recommended that IDAs consistently apply uniform
tax exemption policies and maintain a schedule of all PILOT payments due, any late/unpaid
amounts and the share going to each taxing jurisdiction.5 A 2005 OSC audit of Yonkers found
that considerable taxpayer revenue was likely lost as a result of the ineffective tracking of PILOT
payments.6 Another 2005 audit found that 30 percent of the PILOT bills examined were not prepared
according to the terms of their respective PILOT agreements, with under-billings totaling over
$51,000 and over-billings more than $38,000. If these errors had remained uncorrected for the life
of the PILOT agreements, under-billings would have totaled $520,000 and over-billings $151,000.
Causes for these errors included unclear terms in the PILOT agreements, poor communication
with assessing bodies and lack of monitoring.7
• Types of projects – IDAs have extensive latitude to determine the types of projects that are eligible
for assistance. By either stated policy or practice, some IDAs favor industrial and manufacturing
projects over commercial and service proposals, but others use a case-by-case approach, often placing
a heavy emphasis on the perceived local advantage of the project. While originally conceived as
agencies to spur industrial and manufacturing development, IDAs increasingly provide assistance
to a wide variety of projects, including offi ce buildings, retail, education facilities, transportation,
sports arenas and assisted living centers. For example, while current statute generally prohibits
IDAs from assisting retail projects, several broad exceptions severely dilute such prohibition.
1

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MISSION AND POWERS OF IDAS
Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs) are public benefi t corporations originally authorized by the
Industrial Development Agency Act of 196911 and governed by the provisions of Article 18-A of the
General Municipal Law. Since that time, 177 IDAs have been legislatively authorized and 115 remain active
today.12
The distribution of IDAs throughout the State is far from uniform. Although each county of the State is
served by an IDA, some counties contain as many as seven IDAs, while Warren and Washington counties
share a single one. A table and a map at the end of this report show all of the IDAs within each county
as of March 2006.
According to the authorizing statute, the purpose of an IDA is to promote, develop, encourage and assist
in acquiring, constructing, improving, maintaining or equipping certain facilities, thereby advancing the
job opportunities, health, general prosperity and the economic welfare of the people of New York. Each
IDA is an independent public benefi t corporation established by a special act of the State Legislature at
the request of a sponsoring municipality, and each is expected to act in the interest of that particular local
government and its residents.
Although administrative arrangements vary considerably, an IDA is generally governed by a board consisting
of three to seven members. The Industrial Development Agency Act stipulates that, except as may be
provided by a special act, board members must be appointed by the governing board of each sponsoring
municipality, and may include local government representatives, employees and offi cials, as well as members
of school boards, organized labor, and business groups. There is, however, no requirement that such affected
entities be proportionally represented on IDA boards.
IDAs are required to hold a public hearing before approving any project for which fi nancial assistance of
more than $100,000 is proposed to be provided, but there is no requirement that IDA board members
attend or respond to any questions or objections raised at such a hearing.
IDAs can offer several benefi ts to private companies as inducements for them to relocate to, expand in or
remain in their jurisdictions. Statute provides the following:
• IDAs have been legally empowered to acquire, own and dispose of property.
• IDAs are able to directly issue debt.
• Real property owed by IDAs is exempt from property taxes and mortgage recording taxes.13
• Purchases made in support of approved projects are eligible for exemption from State and local
sales taxes.
However, IDAs do not have taxation powers and thus typically maintain their operations by charging various
fees to the businesses that participate in their projects.