Key Facts to Know

1. AES “Illegal” Tax Cut PILOT Facts

1. Through Political connections the AES Somerset Coal Plant received an “illegal” tax cut Pilot from the Niagara County IDA worth $94.6 Million over 12 years ($43 million with no tax rate inflation).  3 taxing jurisdictions are suing the IDA over the PILOT with over 20 causes of action calling the PILOT illegal.

2. No Jobs, No Constructions, No Added Value to Niagara County Tax Payers.

3. County Tax Bills alone will rise 3.5% next year due to this PILOT and will continue to increase County Taxes each and every year.  $30/850 = 3.5%.

4. Working Families, Senior Citizens, and Small Business Owners pay 3 to 5% of their full and fair Assessed value in Property Taxes.  AES Somerset will pay 1.4% of their full and fair Assessed value.  Is that fair taxation?

5. The Plant’s Assessed Value has been shown by 2 outside experts to be over $1 billion.  $1 billion is what it cost to build.  IS YOUR House assessed less than its cost to build or buy??  AES needs to pay their fair share and nothing more.

6. IF the IDA gives away $1 million in tax revenue, then 60% or $600,000 is lost to local School causing higher School taxes for Homeowners. Ask your local Town Assessor how many PILOTS there are in your school district.

Your Letters can help to change this injustice.

2. IDA Reform – Local

1. The easiest IDA Reform is for the Niagara County IDA to admit their mistake and Rescind the AES PILOT as the Amherst IDA did with the PILOT for the Exigence Medical building.

2. The NCIDA could also “Suspend” the AES Pilot pending the outcome of the 3 lawsuits against the IDA by the County, School and Town.

3. Another Option is for the Niagara County Legislature to simply replace the IDA Board with new members that will do either of the two items above.

• Currently, the Majority Caucus is hiding behind the PILOT lawsuit and doing nothing more.  Only the Minority Caucus is continuously trying to fix the wrong thrust upon all Niagara County Taxpayers

4. The Final Solution for Local IDA Reform is to replace each Majority caucus member of the Niagara County Legislature with harder working, more responsible NEW CANDIDATES.  See Section on Voting for A Better Niagara.

Send Letter to County Legislature demanding;

They do more to fix the AES Fiasco, NOW!

3. IDA Reform – Albany

1. There are two IDA Reform Bills pending in Albany.  Your Letters are important to insure IDA Reform prevents AES and other Big Businesses from repeating this PILOT Fiasco in the future.

2. Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte has sponsored a key reform bill targeted to the Niagara County IDA only.  Bill # A8303.  Call Francine to support her fighting to get this Bill passed (716) 282-6062. It inserts a key clause into the original law that set up the NCIDA. Basically, says no NCIDA PILOTS or Tax breaks without approval of the local Taxing jurisdictions affected (County, Town, & School).

3. This restores us to “taxation with representation” and review by elected officials instead of nine unelected IDA board members causing crippling affects to Town and School Taxes with no oversight or control.

4. The Second Bill is to be a Broad IDA Reform Bill for the entire State.  This Bill will be sponsored soon by Assemblyman Sam Hoyt who is chairman of the Local Government Committee. Tax Reform Niagara was able to submit testimony before Sam Hoyt’s committee. He was asked to include:

1. Francine DelMonte’s language from #A8303 where no PILOTS are allowed without approval of the taxing jurisdiction.

2. Business Standards for Local Hiring and Living Wage.

3. Standards and Accountability with a Statewide Uniform Tax Exemption Policy with no “Deviation Policy”

4. Transparency Reform with full accountability to the Public.

5. A recent report and analysis by New York Jobs with Justice (www.nyjwj.org) titled “Are we Getting our Money’s Worth”  says:

1. 68% of WNY IDA projects failed to meet their job creation targets.

2. WNY local Governments lost $31 million in 2005 alone.  $16 million was lost to WNY schools in 2005.

6. AES IDA Tax Cut PILOT in 2007 has become the Poster Child for IDA Reform across the State.  This PILOT will cause major financial Pain to all 3 taxing jurisdictions; resulting in unwarranted tax increases at the County, Town and School level for years to come.  3.5% county tax increase alone next year.

Your Letters are needed to convince

the Governor and State Legislators to

Pass Major IDA Reform this Year

4. AES Toxic Landfill

1. According to the EPA toxic release Inventory www.epa.gov/tri , AES Somerset releases and buries approx. 1 Million pounds of toxic chemicals annually.

2. The EPA TRI only requires a partial list of hazardous chemicals, metals and toxins be reported to the EPA.  Ammonia is a very small part of the list.

3. Toxic Chemicals include known carcinogens and known health hazard toxins like: Lead, Mercury, Barium, Sulfuric Acid, Vanadium and more.

4. AES processes 4 to 5 million pounds of waste and ash; 20% is identified as toxic to humans by the EPA.

5. Due to an old and odd exception in the law, AES’s Toxic landfill operation is not under the authority of the NYDEC.  The DEC is advisory only to the Public Service Commission Siting Board.  The Siting Board has no Environmental monitoring personnel to insure that AES in compliance with the Law or not.

6. DEC Environmental Law Part 360 requires that Toxic landfills should have a double liner membrane.  Two liners are required in case the first liner develops a hole or leak. The second liner is there to stop Toxins from leaking into the Ground water and migrating to the soil or into the air as the landfill ages.

7. AES Somerset’s Toxic Landfill is substandard because it does not meet the DEC Part 360 double liner requirement.  AES is demanding a variance from the LAW in Court contending that DEC law does not apply.

1. AES Toxic Landfill #1 is almost full and will be capped off soon.

2. Toxic landfill #2 is under construction and will set the safety standard for the next 25 years. 

3. AES has been fighting the DEC and the Town of Somerset in Court for over 2 years. AES is still objecting to a recent 2 judge panel report. AES has delayed implementation of a compromise plan for 12 months.

4. Without full authority the DEC cannot demand they change while AES ties them up in court and keeps landfilling the old fashioned way.

8. The Simplest way to get AES Somerset to comply in full to Environmental laws is to Lobby the PSC Siting Board to simply rule that the DEC has full authority over AES Somerset and require that the new AES Landfill under Construction have a double protection Liner.  No Variance, No Exception; Our KIDS, Our Health and our Environment are too important in Niagara County.

9. For Comparison, the only other EPA listed Toxic landfill in the State (also in Niagara County) is at the Lewiston/Porter based Chemical Waste Management Site. (CWM, Inc. Zip Code 14107). CWM is twice the size of AES with 2 million pounds annually, though the toxins are shipped into CWM. The list is very similar to the AES list of toxins and just as dangerous to our health.  You can visit the EPA Toxic Release site at www.epa.gov/tri and plug in the ZIP – 14107.

10. Since the Toxic landfill mounds will be here 50 years plus after AES is gone, would it not make sense to put double liners in when they are being built?

Your Letters will help safeguard the future health

Of your Children and Grandchildren

Tax Reform Niagara   ●   P.O. Box 34   ●   Barker, New York 14012

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