Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Rearranging Deck Chairs . . .

Ha, ha, ha . . . At least we can look at the situation for its entertainment value . . .
St. Elizabeth Medical Center is considering buying the office building at 4401 Middle Settlement Road after The Hartford Financial Services Group moves out. . . .

Because it is a nonprofit health-care provider, St. Elizabeth does not pay property tax on the buildings it owns, Scholefield said. That would be true of the building if they purchased it.

Town Supervisor Earle Reed acknowledged the lost tax revenue could hurt.
New Hartford and Oneida County have bent over backwards to encourage "growth," but what they've accomplished is like rearranging the deck chairs on a sinking ship: simply moving economic activity from one part of our depressed region to another.

This story is a good illustration of how foolish Town, County and EDGE policies have been and how short-sighted their leaders are.

Not only will there be no jobs coming into the area, but taxpayers will now be on the hook to construct and maintain more public infrastructure at the NH Business Park while having LESS tax revenue coming in to support it!

Way to go, guys and gals!

8 comments:

clipper said...

Why do I find it hard to believe that ANY hospital is "non-profit" anymore? What will they move to that building? Unless it is a family practice clinic, it doesn't need to be moved. NH's tax rolls can afford to take the bite, and unfortunately, it would be ironically humorous to me to see Earl Reed and the boys take a bite in the ass. Maybe the taxpayers will step in some of the doo doo that they pass off, as being in the interest of the masses, and put a stop to some of the shenanigans.

Unfrotunately, the real estate transaction will be between St. E's and the Hartford, and the town will have little input.

Anonymous said...

Great post, once again!

I have a very, very difficult time accepting the theory that our leaders are merely incompetent, and that this explains why things are the way they are in our county.

This post of yours is a shining example of how hard it is to believe this. ANYONE with half a brain can see what is happening: we are being robbed by our own government.

I could swallow the "oopsie" excuse the first, maybe, 15-20 times, but "when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object..."

Anonymous said...

LOL... Actually are they moving or just extending? Because this could increase the number of jobs if there are more positions to fill and etc for the huge demand for serving the elderly people (if it's a satellite site).

Of course Utica could have kept all the jobs if they would just not make a fuss about protecting "historical trees" (hysterical pleas?) that are around the St. E's property. BTW... did St. E's get to knock down the trees to expand? Or are the tree huggers still fornicating with their arboreal lovers on hospital grounds?

There is no such thing as historical trees. SLASH AND BURN THEM. MAKE JOBS. EMPLOY THE YOUNG AND THE IMMIGRANTS.

(Idiots.)

clipper said...

If they take the building, as a non profit, not paying taxes on the property, it seems kind of improper for them to be able to lease some of the space to others. What is wrong with that picture?

But what is the difference, anyone moving a business to NH is getting a free ride with tax incentives for a period of time anyhow, why shouldn't St E's jump on the bandwagon?

Just glad that I don't live, and pay taxes, in New Hartford.

Anonymous said...

Reed says they will be spending money in New Hartford?? Don't they already? Maybe moving the chairs from one McDonalds to the other is what he really means. This is very similar to the same type of "business park" that the Town of Clay is now agonizing over. Muncipalties should not be in this type of business. The taxpayers did not benefit one dime over this project. And, who cares what Dan Gilliland thinks anyway. If the press needs to interview someone interview the ones who pay taxes in this Town.

Anonymous said...

Virtually the entire economic development activity of EDGE and our governments for the past 15 years has been "checkerboarding" development. Look at the hundreds of millions of tax dollars spent at Griffiss in relation to the new jobs brought in. And,they've relocated businesses in while reducing taxes through tax breaks and below market leases. The end result is that the private market has been undermined,employment and population decreased along with a contracting tax base. Not a pretty picture.

clipper said...

I noticed that some of the tax incentives must be running out at Griffiss. There was an article in the OD about a company that is leaving Griffiss and moving to N Utica. I may be wrong, but I would suspect that the rent incentive at the Griffiss Business Park was really a good deal, but now that they have to think about paying more taxes and higher rent, they are making a sound business decision to move to the lower rent district. Good for Utica.

I guess there are good and evil to be found in all this, but as long as the business are remaining viable and staying in the area, we have to swallow the bitter pill to keep the jobs.

The phenomenon amazes me. Here in Tennessee, they complain that the economy is flat, and the unemployment is high. Yet they still build shopping centers just as fast at they can build them, and stores abandon older developments to move into them. We have enough empty strip malls and shopping centers here to house the homeless of the world for gosh sakes. They build churches, banks, check cashing stores, and shopping centers. I don't know there the money comes from to support that kind of economics. I have not been watching lately, but it may be catching up to developers with the latest crisis. It is probably crashing down around them as we speak.

Anonymous said...

RE: Catherine Lawrence, co-founder of the civic group Concerned Citizens for Open and Honest Government, questioned the lost revenue if $4.5 million were removed from the tax rolls.

Ms. Lawrence comments presents a situation which town residents should become alarmed over and here is why:

The Hartford Bldg. is assessed at $4.5 million dollars. New Hartfords combined tax rate approximates $35 per $1,000 of assessed value ($4,500,000 divided by $1,000) equals 4,500 units. Multiply the 4,500 units by $35 and we have a yearly loss of tax revenue in the amount of $157,500.

In 15 years the loss of tax revenue to the Middlesettlement Road property currently occupied by the Hartford Insurance Company will create a revenue stream LOSS in excess of $2,362,500 assuming that the combined tax rate remains unchanged. However, anyone living in New Hartford recognizes that we have a group of blue bloods (i.e. Earle Reed and his Lords) who believe town residents (serfs) serve at the pleasure of those in power.

Even our Oneida County legislators are to blame but for Larry Tanoury, Jr., D-25 and Emil R. Paparella, R-24 who opposed the PILOT ALLOCATION given to the New Hartford Business Park or should I say the Hartford Insurance Company. Guess how much tax revenue will be removed from the tax rolls because of this fiasco? Current estimates based on assessed property value of $11,000,000 equates to an annual loss of tax revenue in the amount of $ $385,000. Over the next 15 years this will further remove from the tax revenue stream an amount in excess of $5,775,000.

Adding insult to injury, the lost economic purchasing power because of the Hartford Job Guaranty (jobs based on a thirty (30) hour work week NOT forty (40) hours will further erode growth and economic purchasing power in excess of $100,000,000 over ten years.

The Job Guaranty is not 689, their supposed current level of employment; not 700 or 800 as in job growth. For the first 5 years of the agreement, The Hartford guarantees 600 full-time employees. For the next 5 years, The Hartford guarantees 500 full-time employees. The Hartfords definition of a full-time employee is someone that works a minimum of 30 hours per week. In reality there is no job growth; there isn't even really job retention. Or, are a lot of part-time employees (less than 30 hours with no benefits) included in the 689 employees...in other words, 689 employees is an inflated figure?

New Hartford Town residents NEED to wake-up and demand resignations from each and every town official and too, our County Legislators who voted in favor of the New Hartford Business Park PILOT Allocation.

ONEIDA County residents too, should ask how this could have been recently passed by our county legislators. Perhaps, Jim DOnofrio, Republican Chairman Oneida County Legislator has the answer just like he had when he stated to Ms. Catherine Lawrence, use eminent domain, if necessary. This is a man who still has an umbilical cord, however, tied to his Republican cronies. Mr. Tanoury was right, Term Limits are necessary for our County Legislators.
[ http://www.larrytanoury.com/termlimits.htm ]