BY JILL TERRERI
The Tonawanda News
April 19, 2006 09:21 am
—
The way industrial development agencies around the state grant tax breaks to companies has prompted a call for change.
State Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, is seeking greater disclosure from IDAs and greater involvement by the cities and towns that stand to lose potential tax revenue if abatements are approved.
Maziarz is concerned with the number of IDAs in Western New York. Niagara County has three. Erie County has six.
“Companies get a deal for 10 years in one (county), then go to another county for another deal,” Maziarz said.
The bill, which has a majority sponsor in the Assembly in Robert Sweeney, D-Suffolk County, calls for local hiring regulations, more community input into the IDA process and a community impact report that would describe the quality of jobs to be created, the effects on open space, schools and housing. Penalties for IDAs that steal companies from other parts of the state would also be strengthened.
“Encouraging the movement of business from one part of New York State to another is not economic development worthy of incentives, it is action worthy of meaningful penalties,” said Allison Duwe, director of the Coalition for Economic Justice, based in Buffalo. The coalition counts many interests, including labor, environmental and religious organizations.
As for the make-up of IDA boards, in addition to members of government, school boards and organized labor, which have always been included, Maziarz’s legislation, which is still in draft form, crosses out “business” and instead calls unequivocally for representatives from environmental organizations to serve. “Such members may also include representatives from the business and engineering communities,” the new legislation reads.
Members of a statewide organization concerned about the state’s industrial development agency policies hailed the legislation during a news conference in Buffalo early this week. They’re concerned that parts of the state law that governs IDAs expires in June.
“Many of these projects would go forward without IDA money, but that analysis is not being done,” said Michael Hoffert, a member of the Erie County IDA board and president of the Buffalo Central Labor Council.
Hoffert’s labor organization, the Coalition for Economic Justice and VOICE Buffalo, a coalition of religious congregations, have joined other organizations across the state to form the New York State Initiative for Development Accountability, which is critical of the operations of IDAs and the results they purport to produce.
This week’s call for reform of IDAs hasn’t been the year’s first.
In March, State Comptroller Alan Hevesi recommended that IDAs should:
• Produce report cards to better inform the public of their activities.
• Require companies to fully disclose job benefits or risk losing benefits.
• Standardize applications across all IDAs.
Hevesi’s office completed several audits of IDAs, which “found inconsistencies in practices, including inadequate controls over (payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements), and suggested a need for more active monitoring and oversight,” according to the office’s Agenda for Reform.
Contact Jill Terreri at 282-2311, Ext. 2250.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.