Albany mayor pitches $12.5M tax agreement for Harriman Campus (Union: taxes, moving)

[ckhthankgod]

Albany mayor Kathy Sheehan proposed a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes plan for the state's Harriman Campus that would generate $12.5 million for the city's budget, according to the Times Union.

Sheehan made the suggestion at a hearing for Local Government Officials/General Government committees. Sheehan sees this as a way to address the annual "structural deficit" in the city's budget.

Sheehan, a Democrat, says the city can no longer cut services to make up the deficit, and has asked the state for the money in years past. The money was not included in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's budget proposal this year. This is the first time she has proposed a PILOT to generate the funds. Sheehan attributes the budget gap to the amount of land the state owns in Albany that is not taxable.

Source: https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/n...ement-for.html

[MrJones17]

I don't really get this. So she wants $12.5 million from the state because the city can't tax that campus' land?

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by MrJones17

I don't really get this. So she wants $12.5 million from the state because the city can't tax that campus' land?

Essentially, as the land that the campus occupies is tax exempt.

This is an issue in other Upstate cities, as a lot of these state and private institutions are tax exempt and it is revenue that said cities miss out on.

This explains it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payment_in_lieu_of_taxes

[MrJones17]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Essentially, as the land that the campus occupies is tax exempt.

This is an issue in other Upstate cities, as a lot of these state and private institutions are tax exempt and it is revenue that said cities miss out on.

This explains it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payment_in_lieu_of_taxes

Interesting. I was unaware of this.

I mean I guess it seems pretty fair, no? Would this $12.5M be annually moving forward or just one time since the city's struggling with cash?

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by MrJones17

Interesting. I was unaware of this.

I mean I guess it seems pretty fair, no? Would this $12.5M be annually moving forward or just one time since the city's struggling with cash?

Good questions, as I’m wondering if the city is using this as a “backup plan” in case of a budget shortage or if this becomes a new normal in terms of state funds.