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| State ABO Report Sheds Light on LCIDA Operations Contributed by: Ned E. Cole, Business Consultant 07/12/15 12:05am |
Lewis County- In an effort to make Industrial Development Agencies and Local Development Corporations more transparent, the New York State Authorities Budget Office (ABO) released to the public the “2015 Annual Report on Public Authorities in New York State”, published on July 1st. This report covers the financial operations, practices, and structure of state and local public authorities. The report includes data for fiscal years 2010 - 2014.
site, Its mission is to attract and enhance industrial and economic development, help create jobs and maintain economic stability within Lewis County. For 2010 the average annual private sector employment for Lewis County was 4,218. By 2014, this figure had declined to 4,155. The data shows a decrease of 63 average annual private sector jobs in Lewis County during 2010 and 2014 period. This is based on United States Department of Labor statistics found in the ABO report. During that same period, the ABO reported the LCIDA had 2 approved projects. These projects were projected to create 16 jobs during this period. The ABO report does not show any job created by the LCIDA during 2014, while the LCIDA Financial Statement, under the Management Discussion and Analysis section of their website reports 38 to 46 new jobs created. An IDA can offer four specific types of financial assistance to a company looking to do business in a specified jurisdiction: mortgage and sales tax exemptions, property tax abatements, also known as payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT), and tax exempt financing, to companies that create and retain jobs. The significant part of the assistance is the PILOT. The PILOT payments collected for the financial year ended May 31, 2015 were $470,079. The PILOT compensates local governments for some or all of the tax revenue that it loses when the property is taken of the tax rolls by the LCIDA. The 2014 LCIDA Financial Statement showed an operating net loss of $73,344. Total operating expenses before the PILOT were $111,999. The financial statement revealed salary and wages were $71,573, a major part of the total operating expenses. It is important to note that the LCIDA is not funded with actual tax dollars, but by a small percentage fee charged to companies receiving PILOT agreements.
their operations and finances, actual jobs created and the overall improvement to the economic conditions of their counties. The ABO has taken steps to correct these areas by increasing the transparency of the IDAs. They have required the agencies to have a website to keep the public abreast of their activities. The LCIDA website can be found at www.lcida.org. Under the “About Us” tab, the public can find information such as the agency's missions, goals and objectives; code of ethics; board and staff; meeting minutes; meeting agendas; financial statements and the agencies policies. The IDA meetings are open to the public and they are required to post public notices. The minutes are required to be posted within 14 days of the meeting, which doesn't always take place. The ABO issues an Annual Report that can be found on http://www.abo.ny. gov/reports/annualreports/ABO2015AnnualReport.pdf , which details all the Industrial Development Agencies and Local Development Corporations in the state, including the Lewis County Development Corporation, another agency that assists job growth in the county This report provides the activities, finances and operations of all of New York’s public authorities. “However, we caution that this information cannot be the sole criteria for measuring the effectiveness of public authorities or for determining the community benefits derived from the financial trade-offs often made by these authorities.” Michael Farrar, Acting Director of the ABO stated in the Annual Report. |
