What are good projects for IDA incentives?

[nogods]

It doesn't bother me if incentives are given for worthy reasons.

and who makes that decision? Our elected representatives? that's what we have now and the tea party people are having a cow because of it.

[WNYresident]

So who makes the decisions? By rights we do.. The community... They seemed to have gotten a little too loose with the tax incentives.. We don't see any benefits for upwards of a decade in some instances...

So waht are your opinions on incentives that help the community? Not the developer.. They are just businesses..

[shortstuff]

"IDA'S failing taxpayers major reform is needed" by Allison Duwe, Executive Director, Coalition for Economic Justice, Buffalo

I quote from the Bufnews:

Industrial development agencies are complex bureaucracies that hand out tax breaks to businesses based on job creation promises. We have six of them in Erie Co. alone. There has been a lot of press recently about IDAs and their attempt to avoid paying taxes. IDAs are just trying to have their cake and eat it, too.

When reformers demand more accountability, IDAs claim that they're private businesses and should be free from oversight and regulation. But when tax time rolls around, they claim they're nonprofits that don't need to pay taxes!

People need to start asking why IDAs continue to spend more and more of our tax dollars, yet continue to fail to deliver the good jobs and economic growth we desperately need.

We're facing giant budget deficits and cutbacks, with local taxes continuing to rise, all while well-connected business leaders and developers cash in on IDA hand-outs. IDAs should pay their fair share, and we need to look at long-term solutions--and I'm not talking about 20- and 30-year tax exemptions for corporations. By fixing IDAs as a whole, we could guarantee that they create good jobs, and our local communities could get some tax relief."

Comment: Great article, and I agree we need to focus on what IDAs were initially intended for, lure in businesses from "out of state" that will bring in new money (not circulate the already existing monies), bring new jobs that employ more than a few people. The cycles of the term in which they receive these IDAs should be limited to short term rather than a way of life (or for more than 10 years). There needs to be oversight, and if this company does not continue to meet the terms set forth, they should not have continuation of the IDAs they receive then. Revisit, re-evaluate and use it wisely so it benefits the region as a whole.

[NBuffaloResident]

So who makes the decisions? By rights we do.. The community... They seemed to have gotten a little too loose with the tax incentives.. We don't see any benefits for upwards of a decade in some instances...

So waht are your opinions on incentives that help the community? Not the developer.. They are just businesses..

The voters don't seem to share your opinion there. The voters keep voting in the same people, so those people must be doing something right.

As for the incentives that help communities and not developers? I'm all for them. Development companies are a business, and really shouldn't have any expectation of special treatment.

[cookie]

and who makes that decision? Our elected representatives? that's what we have now and the tea party people are having a cow because of it.

Decisions are made by the board of each IDA. While most of them have some local elected officials on the board, they almost all also have local businessmen, community business and economic group reps, etc. Some examples:
Lancaster (mission and list of board members)
http://www.lancasterny.com/lida/intro.html
Amherst (board members)
http://www.amherstida.com/meetings/b...directors.html
Hamburg (general info and board members)
http://www.hamburgida.com/aboutus.php3
Erie County (board members)
http://www.ecidany.com/about_bod.asp

IDA's are public benefit corporations established under Section 858 of the General Municipal Laws of the State of New York.

My personal opinion is that iDA's are excellent tools for economic development that are in dire need of some oversight!

[FMD]

The voters don't seem to share your opinion there. The voters keep voting in the same people, so those people must be doing something right.

Has it ever even once occurred to you that voting might be fixed?

I mean seriously, lets look at the WHOLE picture here...

we all bitch about basically the SAME crap, and yet year after year, the SAME people get elected back in. How is that possible. We all claim to be voting for that other guy, and yet the Ahole's continue to get 'elected'

I personally, feel voting in this country, has LONG been dead, and that MOST people cant even begin to fathom the possibility that voting fraud is RAMPANT in this country.

[nickelcityhomes]

IDA's are simply a way for the government to pick winners and losers. They should ALL be abolished.

[therising]

What are good projects for IDA incentives?

Say you have a vacant piece of land that's been generating virtually nothing in tax dollars.

And, someone comes along, and says "I want to build a building there, and move all my employees here - but if I do so, I want a tax break for 10 years."

So, the IDA says "OK you'll pay 10% of the taxes for the first year, 20% for the second, and so on, for 10 years." And, then, when you run the math, you see that even, at the 10 0r 20% number, this property is generating more in tax dollars than it ever has. PLUS, they're employing people.

So, to me, that's a no-brainer of a good IDA project.

[bflo_resident1]

this is funny, a new hot topic forum questioning how bad ida's are to cover up the other conversation linking to a buffalo news article about carl paladino getting extensive tax breaks, lobbying for empire zones to be rezoned to cover his propoerties, getting a building, a parking lot and almost $400,000 to make repairs all for $1.

[shortstuff]

I actually agree with the incentive of receiving "Empire Zone" tax break in the city. In order to keep business in a central point like in the city to lure people and housing in that particular area, incentivizing is good. HOWEVER, we need to suggest that in receiving this, they should follow the criteria set forth in the guidelines.

The problem is, IDA's, Empire Zone, can predict a sucess or failure of a business.

[4248]

Instead of paying different companies create one big one. Employ people one welfare or other assistance programs to sort recyclables.

Glass for instance, we sort it out in our homes from the regular trash. Then we put it out and pay a company to take it and hopefully recycle it.

Just about every Town has a parks or Highway Dept - why not use them to pick it up - drop it in the recycle area and we use the money to reduce the cost of services?

Yes, this is another suggestion that we tried to bring up in Lancaster. But some people feel it would interfere with the regular flow of contributions
(I couldn't resist)

Theres many ways each Town and or City could save tax dollars.

Also I believe creating jobs is much better than helping large companies improve their ability to get more loans, which is what allot of their action do now.

Most IDA agreements are actually using tax dollars and incentives to guarantee profits not create jobs.

Just my opinion - could be wrong!

[Bioguy231]

As far as tax breaks for companies, NYS needs to offer them just to partially offset the high taxes here. Taxes ion other states are very very very low compared to NYS. We're not just talking about tax breaks for companies in the city but tax breaks throughout the state. Even the most generous tax breaks the state currently offers still puts us way behind a lot of states that have lower taxes overall.

As far as how IDA's use their assets, they really need to prioritize things. Definitely any manufacturing firms needs top priority. When a manufacturing firm makes and sells a product to say Japan, the Japanese send that company money and that is money coming into the US and NYS.

Service companies tend to just reshuffle money that's already here. For example, doctors, lawyers and other service organizations don't actually bring money in. They just reshuffle money that's here already. A service firm like Geico does bring money in because their employees are being paid from a corporate headquarters located someplace else.

Retail outfits should be very very low on the pecking order. For example, if I walk into Bass Pro in downtown buffalo and buy something that isn't made locally, I'm actually sending money out of the area.

The Empire Zone tax breaks have been used for some pretty stupid stuff. For example, Paladino built a condo building on the waterfront, in an Empire Zone, and sold the units to people like Steve Barnes from Celino and Barnes. Now, Steve Barnes won't have to pay property taxes for the next 10 years on his $1 million condo. How on earth does that help our local economy?????

[cookie]

I agree manufacturing jobs should be at the top of the list, but here's the bad news: Manufacturing concerns (especially any wanting to relocate here) are just not beating down our doors. Most of them are fleeing highly unionized states (NY ranks #1 in union affiliation). **
2nd, while service jobs do tend to shuffle money rather than bring in money, they are still needed and we can't totally ignore them. Good services, both quality of life ones as well as business type one's are needed to attract other types of businesses.
3rd, I could be wrong, but I don't see NY being as aggressive at courting new business. I know many states send people to NY companies to try luring them to their states. Do we do that? And if we do, what do we offer them that no one else does? Sometimes I think we're like proud parents. Our children (our region) is the apple of our eye and we see them (it) in a possibly better light than those that are outside looking in.
4th, Do the IDA's REALLY do any due diligence or just a rudimentary look-see? Without proper due diligence, we might as well spit in the wind and pass out money on the street corner.
5th, Are IDA bennies handed out like patronage jobs are?
Just a few random thoughts.

**per Bureau of Labor Statistics

[bflo_resident1]

I actually agree with the incentive of receiving "Empire Zone" tax break in the city. In order to keep business in a central point like in the city to lure people and housing in that particular area, incentivizing is good. HOWEVER, we need to suggest that in receiving this, they should follow the criteria set forth in the guidelines.

what if someone got the mayor to recut the empire zone to fit within a property of a millionaire who has made almost half a million in various campaign contributions?

[cookie]

The Empire Zones Designation Board (EZDB) is responsible for approval of applications for zone designations and certain Regionally Significant Projects.

The EZDB is comprised of the following six voting and two non-voting members:

Voting members:
Commissioner, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
Commissioner, New York State Department of Labor
Director, New York State Division of the Budget
Two Governor appointees
One appointee by the Temporary President of the New York State Senate
One appointee by the Speaker of the New York State Assembly

Non-voting members:
One appointee by the Minority Leader of the New York State Senate
One appointee by the Minority Leader of the New York State Assembly