An Orange County IDA top official says the agency is already under sufficient state oversight and needs no more from New York State Sen. James Skoufis.
Bill Fioravanti, chief executive officer at the county’s Industrial Development Agency (IDA), said the agency reports to the New York State Authorities Budget Office and Comptroller’s Office and operates within the General Municipal Law.
“We are under strict oversight and monitoring already,” he told The Epoch Times. “These agencies have had no issue with how we operate the IDA nor any projects we have incentivized.”
IDAs are public benefit corporations empowered by state law to use tax incentives to spur economic development and job growth.
On Jan. 13, Skoufis advanced an oversight measure into the senate’s version of the state budget, which would create the position of a monitor with powers to reject deals approved by the county IDA.
Skoufis represents New York’s 42nd district, which covers most of Orange County, and chairs the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations.
As a senator, he has been vocal about what he calls bad deals out of under-regulated county IDA for years, which he often equates to corporate welfare at the cost of local tax dollars.
Just last month, he launched an investigation into the county IDA over the $3 million in tax incentives granted to a longtime Goshen-based food manufacturer.
He called it the “worse deal” ever done by the county IDA at a press conference, given that the applicant said the project would happen regardless of the incentives, though at a slower pace.
Fioravanti argues that tax incentives approved by IDA follow industry-standard cost-and-benefit analysis, with a focus on industries that the county seeks to attract, such as food and beverage manufacturers.
Plus, IDA incentives should not be viewed in isolation but against the backdrop of the unfavorable business environment in the state of New York, he added.
“We are looking for senator Skoufis and the state government to make New York more competitive for businesses,” Fioravanti said. “If he can bring those conditions about, we’d gladly close up shop and focus our energies elsewhere.”
Up for Review
That said, Fioravanti doesn’t mean the agency is perfect, he said.
He looks forward to a review and revision of the agency’s uniform tax exemption policy in the summer, which lays out directives and rules governing the tax incentives’ approval.
The policy was last updated in June 2019.
Run by seven volunteer board members, the county IDA gets its entire operating money from application fees; taxpayers can voice opinions on projects through public hearing sessions.
Since Fioravanti came on board about two years ago, the county IDA has not rejected a single application from businesses, he told The Epoch Times.
Three tax incentives commonly sought are sales tax exemption, mortgage recording tax exemption, and real property tax abatement.
He added that is because businesses that did apply had already self-qualified based on agency policy.
The oversight measure introduced by Skoufis is part of the state Senate’s one-house budget, which still needs to be negotiated with the state assembly and Gov. Kathy Hocul.
A state budget is due by April 1.
In the past, Skoufis successfully secured funding in the budget for an audit of IDAs statewide, which is currently going on and will likely conclude this year.
In 2021, three former county IDA officials pleaded guilty to corruption charges over using their public posts to benefit private companies in which they had a personal interest.
The three were ordered to a combined amount of more than $1 million in restitution.
