Sen. Skoufis Calls on OCIDA to Cancel 15 Tax-Break Programs Over Failed Job Creation

ORANGE COUNTY, N.Y.—New York State Sen. James Skoufis, a Democrat, is calling for the Orange County Industrial Development Agency (OCIDA) to get back money from companies in tax-incentive programs that failed to meet their job creation promises.

Skoufis, along with state Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson and Democratic county representatives Matt Fascaldi, Jonathan Redeker, and Stephen Hunter, held a press conference on Dec. 15 outside the agency office in New Windsor. Skoufis said that the semi-annual report by the agency monitor showed that 15 companies that were given tax breaks were underperforming on job creation, a key consideration when the development agency gives out tax breaks.

These companies represent more than half the active tax-break programs issued by the agency, according to Skoufis.

When companies don’t make good on their job promises, state law allows development agencies to take back granted benefits. This would mean the companies would be required to pay back the taxes they were exempted from.

The 15 companies referenced vary widely in compliance with their promised job creations. One prominent underperformer was Crystal Run Healthcare in Monroe, which created only 108 of the 452 jobs promised. Others were not as prominent in their underperformance, such as CPV Valley, which employed 23 people of the promised 25. The oldest tax break under scrutiny by Skoufis is from 2012.

The development agency tax breaks can be in the tens of millions of dollars. A recent attempt by the agency to get a tax break for an Amazon Warehouse in Wawayanda would have saved the company $80 million.

Skoufis said at the press conference that the agency was not checking the numbers the companies were sending them and didn’t know about the issue.

“The OCIDA should be ashamed of itself for not caring one iota about the taxpayers they purport to serve,” Skoufis said in a Dec. 15 statement. “In light of these broken promises to create jobs, the absolute least the agency can and must do is claw back these tax breaks.”

Skoufis is calling on the agency to take back the tax breaks itself, but he said that he has a bill pending in the state Legislature that would make it a legal necessity for the agency to take the money back.

The agency monitor’s report suggests that the agency take the appropriate corrective actions to make sure companies follow through on their promises, as well as remind the companies of their promises.

The Industrial Development Agency is a public benefit corporation that pursues the growth of businesses in Orange County using benefits such as tax breaks.

OCIDA CEO Bill Fioravanti told The Epoch Times on Dec. 16 that the OCIDA told the agency monitor in September that the report had incorrect, outdated, or misreported employment numbers. Fioravanti said that of the 30 companies receiving tax incentives, five failed to hit their job goals, and three of the five missed them by less than 10 percent.

Fioravanti said the agency has been in discussion with the monitor regarding recapturing benefits from those companies that failed their commitments.

“It is irresponsible to suggest the IDA has taken a blind eye to this,” he said. “Do not be mistaken, the senator has no interest in getting to the bottom of this issue. Instead, he staged a media stunt to discredit the IDA simply because we recently called out the unlawful actions of his monitor.”

Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled the names and misstated the titles of Jonathan Redeker and Stephen Hunter. The Epoch Times regrets the errors.