IDA News & Updates
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"Mayor Fare is right to focus on what caused these tax increases to insure they don't happen again"
- Martin Cantor
Commonly Asked Questions About the I.D.A.s (Industrial Development Agencies)
and PILOTS (Payments In Lieu of Taxes)
What is an Industrial Development Agency or I.D.A.?
The IDA is a solely autonomous public benefit corporation that was established by New York State law back in 1969. It consists of between seven and nine board members. The agency was designed to lure companies to our state or ease the burden of existing businesses by offering tax abatement programs designed to help create or retain jobs.
Is there more than one servicing our area?
Yes, there is a Nassau County IDA and a Town of Hempstead IDA. These entities have the authority to offer tax abatements and payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTS) to qualified area businesses.
What is a PILOT and why would a company want to participate in this initiative?
A PILOT is a payment in lieu of taxes. There are many misunderstandings about this program. The spirit of the PILOT offers a prospective business that wishes to move to the Nassau County area an incentive to come to the Long Island region. It also offers existing businesses tax incentives to stay in Nassau and expand, create and retain jobs. There is a specific schedule of tax payments over a 10-20 year period that allows the company to be shielded from large tax increases while trying to make a return on investment and create jobs in Valley Stream. It actually works as a “soft freeze” or tax abatement that includes payment escalations over the term of the agreement, usually in line with the projected cost of living over a decade or so.
How do governments or school districts benefit from I.D.A. PILOTS?
In almost every case, every PILOT within the Village of Valley Stream has resulted in a net increase in revenue to the Village, compared to what a straight tax payment would have been. The Green Acres-Macerich decision by the Town of Hempstead I.D.A. was a rare exception, caused by a mistake in calculations due to the complicated tax structure of the Central High School district. It was the only PILOT in Valley Stream’s history that caused a tax increase.
PILOTs are attractive to municipalities because they assure structured payments over 10 – 20 years. Every PILOT is different, but in most cases, the subject property is either depressed, vacant and/or under-developed. The PILOT gives the owner an opportunity to improve the parcel by phasing in taxes, which are structured to increase the payments over time to at least what they would ordinarily be for a fully developed property. In some cases the final tax number is even higher than what the ordinary taxes would have been. Once the PILOT expires, the regular tax rates kicks in, but by now the value of the site is typically higher than when the PILOT began; therefore the taxes are higher as well. In many instances, the property would not have been improved without the benefit of the PILOT, and the site would have remained under-developed, distressed, or worse.
Village Grills Town I.D.A. at Meeting - 11/3 UPDATE
Hempstead, New York: While Trustee John Tufarelli lambasted members of the Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency on the Green Acres Mall tax giveaway at the board’s regular I.D.A. meeting in the town’s Old Courthouse, our village attorneys have been busy joining with the Town of Hempstead Supervisor to join the Town’s lawsuit against the IDA.
Right now we have more questions than answers as to how this tax shortfall was calculated. As we learn more, we will share that information with our citizens and businesses who have been unfairly burdened by the IDA’s actions.
We’ll keep you posted.
Village Grills Town I.D.A. at Meeting
Hempstead, New York: Trustee John Tufarelli lambasted members of the Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency on the Green Acres Mall tax giveaway at the board’s regular I.D.A. meeting in the town’s Old Courthouse.
The I.D.A. expects to hire a new financial consultant to review the financial arrangements of the 2014 PILOT program granted to Macerich, the company that now owns the Green Acres Shopping Mall.
An I.D.A. member stated when asked that his board would not have given Macerich the PILOT program if they knew what they know today about its effect on school taxes.
We’ll keep you posted.
