Woods Highway project OK'd

[Swimmy]

Woods Highway project OK'd

Some one please explain this to me. The way it was explained to me, was that the New Hartford School Board would use the Hartford's PILOT to pay for the improvements. But the paper clearly says that it will "give up tax money now to fund improvements."

And why is the school board making motions to keep the Woods Hwy residents updated about the progress? Why are they passing resolutions to make sewer and water connections to those residents? Where is the TOWN board on those matters? Why is the SCHOOL board discussing TOWN board matters? And why is the SCHOOL board spending its taxes collected from last year to fund this project?

Seriously, new hartford was OVER-taxed if the SCHOOL district can fund this NON-school project! All legal issues aside.

[strikeslip]

This is a "deal" between the "insiders" who control local government and a private developer. Not everyone gets the same treatment.

School district gets a "free" gift of land for a bus garage after voters turned down a purchase for the same purpose. The developer gets to have the school district, Town and County pay to widen a Town Road and connect it to 2 state highways (he gets it for "free") instead of the Town collecting Fees In Lieu of Mitigation from him to pay for the road improvements.

Meanwhile, economic vitality is moved from one part of the region to another (making it harder for Competing businesses to pay their bills) and the public, which is declining in numbers, is saddled with extending water, sewer, police, fire, more road etc etc which maintenance costs will go on forever. Taxes will forever increase. The scheme is not sustaining.

Everyone winds up paying so that a selected connected few can benefit.

Is it any wonder why businesses don't come here (without heavy subsidy) and the ones we have here just pick up and leave?

[Swimmy]

how is it legal for the school to pay for a non-school projects? Seriously.

[strikeslip]

Swimmy -- It is not legal.

The School Board and OCIDA cited Gen Muni Law 858(15) as the authority that allows the school districts to do this. However §858 grants authorities to Industrial Development Agencies -- not to school boards. Sub (15) requires IDAs to distribute PILOTS in a particular fashion "unless" the taxing jurisdictions agree otherwise. It's the "unless" portion that they are depending upon.

Unfortunately there is one case from the appellate division last year that seems to say this is OK. Palmateer v Greene County Indus. Dev. Agency (2007, 3d Dept) 38 App Div 3d 1087, 831 NYS2d 604. My impression is that the plaintiff did a lousy job researching his case -- which has resulted in bad precedent for everyone else.

I'm sure you've learned by now that government agencies cannot do whatever they want, but must act according to legal authorities conferred upon them by their enabling statutes. School boards' rights and duties are conferred by the Education Law. See, eg, Education Law §1709. Interestingly, there is absolutely no mention of the Education Law in the Palmateer decision -- and no mention of school boards acting to promote industrial development in the Education Law (at least none that I could find).

One hopes that when the errors in thinking are exposed, people will change their ways -- but around here the possibility of making a buck or doing a friend a favor seem to trump the law. . . . especially when the government agencies that are charged with protecting us seem to be participants.

One could go to court, I suppose, and waste their life savings fighting some small "issue" like this one (the courts seem to have become particularly ineffective in preventing the weight of their proceedings from crushing the financially smaller party) but there will be 100 other issues left to be resolved.

It is just so much EASIER to pack one's bags and leave. Which is exactly what people have been doing.

[Swimmy]

Thank you for shedding some light on the matter.

That's the third department. Albany is full of crack-pots. I have not read the decision, but if it is as faulty as you suggest, the Fourth Department would be able to dismiss the case and set its own precedent, especially if the plaintiff does an effect job of researching the brief. If I remember, the Appellate Divisions are similar to the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals. At the federal level, the Second Circuit is not bound by decisions from another Circuit, such as the infamous 9th Circuit. If that's the case with the NY Appellate Divisions, then the Third Department's case is only persuasive precedent, not binding. So the outcome is not as bleak as one might think.


Is there an IDA involved? if so, maybe the school considers itself a taxing jurisdiction that can agree to a different PILOT distribution plan?

As for the court reference, you could attempt an injunction matter and tie in all the illegal acts. Also, is there a way to "recall" officials? What about filing grievances with ethics committees and inviting the Attorney General to investigate?

What has me the most baffled is that no one else, aside from you and the members of Concerned Citizens, even cares or is questioning this "deal."

[strikeslip]

swimmy said:

?

What has me the most baffled is that no one else, aside from you and the members of Concerned Citizens, even cares or is questioning this "deal."

This is probably one of the most frustrating things. Ignorance would be bliss.

There are people scattered out there who care, but not many because everything is written up in such glowing terms in the local press ... Without knowledge of what is happening, who would complain?

[Swimmy]

can't you guys place like a mole deep inside the od and countermand their political agenda and yellow journalism?

[nhcitizen18]

Honestly as a taxpayer in New Hartford I have read everything I could get my hands on in regard to this issue and I don't see how I am being hurt at all. If anything the fact that my tax dollars didn't have to go toward purchasing the land that the school district needed and the fact that the Hartford will stay in New Hartford and eventually pay property taxes to the school and town is helping me.

If someone thinks there is an illegality in this deal that is hurting them financially I really encourage them to sue the town and the district and let a judge decide the matter. It gets really old when Concerned Citizens sends their anointed political candidate onto the OD forums to whine and campaign for office instead of suing to actually (in their opinion) help the residents of New Hartford.

All Concerned Citizens (particularly our local village idiot Ed Wiatr) do is personally attack good people and engage in negative campaigning for political office. If they actually had a political platform and a well articulated plan on how their platform would make my life better I might have an ounce of respect for them. All they offer is criticism and venom for local leaders (some of which I personally have a very high regard for) and no solutions of their own.

Bottom line: If you believe it is illegal and it is hurting you then sue. If you're not willing to do that then you're full of hot air.

[Swimmy]

If I wasn't busy with law school, believe me, I would.

[frankcor]

swimmy, when you pass your bar exam, you can take on the New Hartford school district on a pro bono basis. It'd be a great notch on your pistol grip when you're peddling your resume to law firms.

[Swimmy]

Don't think that hasn't crossed my mind.