Giving away tax base in the name of creating jobs has a double meaning for the towns and villages of Jefferson County.
Sales tax among those municipalities is whacked up based on assessed valuation, so exempting property cuts that revenue and sends it elsewhere.
That's why the LeRay Town Board has rejected a PILOT for a biomass plant on Fort Drum, while other taxing jurisdictions approved it.
'It wasn't worth it' was the mantra of the town board members who voted no.
Watertown Daily Times | LeRay rejects PILOT for biomass plant at Fort Drum
8 comments:
Thank God or the Leray Town Board for this decision, although the decision to go into exectutive session to discuss it under the guise of "Personnal issue" is a bit of a stretch.
Your choice of words is a difference with a distinction. PILOTS do not give away tax base. They temporarily waive tax on a base that does not yet exist...a PAYMENT is received in lieu of. And nothing is given away, both parties enter the transaction for "consideration."
Now you could wrongly argue that all investors would invest regardless of their tax rate.
Or you could rightly argue that some of the projects that receive PILOTS would still come to be without a PILOT.
Kudos to them.
31k on a multimillion project doesnt matter.
Finally a local govt w/the balls to say no
Well done Town of LeRay board; I too, wish other boards would have the guts, that you displayed. Pilots are much like a credit card, nice to have,nice to spend; but ,lose a lot more,over the long run.
Thank you 9:20 for actually understanding what that meant. The three no votes shame on you. This was a long term gain for LeRay and your lack of understanding the issue killed the jobs that would have come to the logging community and the truck drivers and all the other people that would have supported it. LeRay is not hurting like other communities. Shame on you.
Out of all the PILOTs negotiated this was one of the best. Disappointing!!
Why do we need PILOTS when there is a need for it? Lets not forget the Mortgage tax lost. And the Monies funneled to the JCIDA.
If all these pilots are such a good deal for employment pictures, how about giving "pilots" to all people who want to live here, because you know who is going to be paying the bill. If NYS ,as a whole, was more business friendly, to all,across the board, then we would not need all these scams ("pilots"). My bottom line "pilots" = "greed".
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