COUNTY LEGISLATURE: All AES suits to cease

By Joyce Miles<br><a href="mailto:joyce.miles@lockportjournal.com">E-mail Joyce</a>

The Niagara County Legislature signed off on a settlement with AES Somerset to make a series of assessment challenges go away.

A proposed stipulation of settlement and order was approved by legislators in a 17-0 vote. Legislators Keith McNall, R-Lockport, and Jason Cafarella, D-Niagara Falls, were absent.

The settlement agreement is linked with a new, five-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement for AES that Niagara County Industrial Development Agency approved in January.

In exchange for the PILOT, which gives the power plant five years of tax “certainty,” AES agreed to drop six lawsuits against the county, the Town of Somerset and Barker Central School District, all challenging the power plant’s assessed value. Had AES succeeded in having the value lowered, the taxing entities would be on the hook for refund of tax overpayments. Now they’re not; AES waived its right to claim refunds on tax and special district tax bills already paid.

The PILOT has AES, the county’s largest taxpayer, shelling out $15.8 million a year in lieu of taxes through 2015. The county will receive $4,977,000, the town $1,461,500 and the school district $9,361,500.

Notably, the county and the town will cover AES’ special district tax payments from their shares of the in-lieu money, rather than AES paying them. Over the past three years, AES paid roughly $960,000 a year to special districts (water, fire, etc.) along with payments to the county, town and school district.

The 2010 PILOT replaces a previous in-lieu agreement that the town and school district sued successfully to have overturned. The new and old agreements are pretty much the same in spirit — the old, 12-year agreement locked in AES’ in-lieu payments at $15.8 million a year after a time — but the terms were forged with consent of the county, town and school boards. Also different: Each taxing entity’s share of the in-lieu payment is the same every year, addressing a school district concern about difficulty projecting income while preparing the next year’s school budget.

The settlement agreement sets AES’ assessed value at $482.5 million for the duration of the new PILOT. Its value was set at $667 million under the old one.

Also as part of the settlement, NCIDA agreed to drop its appeal of the Fourth Department’s ruling overturning the old PILOT.

The agreement will be filed in state Supreme Court today, County Attorney Claude Joerg said.

In other business Wednesday, legislators voted unanimously in favor of a resolution by Renae Kimble, D-Niagara Falls, calling on New York Power Authority to be “fair, open and transparent” as it calls for proposals for a Great Lakes offshore wind generating project.

Kimble cited a series of recent developments suggesting NYPA isn’t giving Lake Ontario/Niagara County the same serious interest that it’s giving Lake Erie/Erie County in promoting a project.

The resolution points to NYPA’s opening of a regional office in Buffalo, rather than near the Niagara Power Project in Lewiston; listing of only a small area of Lake Ontario on its Potentially Feasible Sites map; and public comments last week by NYPA trustee Patrick Curley, at a NYPA event aimed at wind industry participants, referring to “the offshore initiative in Lake Erie” with no mention of Lake Ontario.

“These types of things have got to stop,” Kimble said. “I don’t know what it is with Erie County (but) we are the largest producer of power ... .”

Legislature Majority Leader Rick Updegrove, R-Lockport, applauded the spirit of Kimble’s resolution. As Niagara County Economic Development Agency actively pursues business opportunities for windpower-associated industries, he said, signals from NYPA that Niagara won’t be a windpower player undermines the recruitment effort.

Of Curley’s comment particularly, he said, “something that can be perceived as a premature announcement makes our job more difficult.”

As it’s soliciting and reviewing wind project proposals, Kimble’s resolution calls on NYPA to “conduct all proceedings in a fair, open and transparent way, without showing partiality for one location over the other.”

“I hope Richard Kessel and his team get the message: Play fair. We want the opportunity,” she said.

The Legislature also:

• OK’d payment of $8,746.71 to the law firm Webster Szanyi LLP for three months of work representing the county in a lawsuit filed against NYPA last year. The lawsuit seeks reversal of New York state’s so-called sweep of NYPA funds to reduce the state’s deficit last year; and refunds for local NYPA customers who were hit with a rate increase after the sweep.

• OK’d striking two part-time corrections officer posts and adding two part-time dispatcher posts in the 2010 county budget. Either job pays the same rate, $15.64 per hour. According to Undersheriff Sam Muscarella, having more part-time dispatchers on call should help reduce overtime charges in the dispatch center. The Legislature also approved creation of one part-time helicopter mechanic’s post, with pay of $12.50 per hour; and simultaneous abolition of a vacant part-time Marine Deputy post.

Contact reporter Joyce Miles at 439-9222, ext. 6245.

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