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April 29, 2008
No tax breaks for Widewaters
So there was Marco Marzocchi, general counsel for the Widewaters Group, sitting before the Columbia County Industrial Development Agency on April 10, saying "I don't want to be here" only to later add that he was there because of "economic times."
That's the public spin. The real reason he was there was to try and convince the Industrial Development Corporation that the Rochester-based developer he represents deserves a tax break. He was there trying to take advantage of a loophole created when a law prohibiting such bodies from considering retail developments for such tax breaks expired.
What Widewaters is seeking is to have a PILOT payment. That means it would agree to make payments to local taxing entities, such as the county, Greenport and Hudson City School District, instead of paying property taxes. PILOTs are usually, but not always, less than the actual tax rate on the developed property.
At the April 10 hearing came revelations that the only certain guaranteed tenant of the project isn't Kohl's, Applebee's, Marshalls or some other retailer not in Columbia County, but a Wal-Mart Supercenter, according to Marzocchi.
It also raises doubts about "conservative numbers" Marzocchi cited about potential sales taxes generated by Greenport Commons. If only one tenant is guaranteed, how can new sales tax revenues be $10.8 million per year? How can there be a full-time equivalent of 954 new jobs?
Congress created the IDA mechanism in the 1960s to help medium-sized manufacturing companies expand. Neither Widewaters, nor its Greenport Commons project, fits that description.
The Columbia County IDA will meet today at 10 a.m. to talk more about Widewaters' application for a PILOT payment. Already several citizens, government leaders and the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce have come out against the idea. The county IDA should stick to its original purpose, reject the request and let Widewaters play by the same rules as every other business in Columbia County.
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