In the Cold of the Night

It seems lately that every meeting I attend is in a snowstorm. Last night I attended the important public hearing on the PILOT for SI Group. I’d never been to an IDA meeting before and thought it would be educational for a variety of reasons. Thankfully, my daughter was eager to accompany me.

By now, you probably know the PILOT was approved but not before a rather lengthy Executive Session produced a few additional concessions from SI Group. I’m not smart enough to tell you with absolute certainty that it was a good deal but I’m inclined to believe that it was probably a prudent decision to hammer out an agreement. If SI Group lives up to it’s end, it could ultimately be good for everyone. A calculated and necessary gamble given the pending tax litigation that now goes away.

The public hearing itself was a bit of a disappointment. Gazette reporter Justin Mason was generous when he described it as sparsely attended. Three people had their say so, expressing their concern about the financial impact on residents. Strangely, no one representing the Schalmont school district took the opportunity to vet the PILOT’s impact on school programs. The anticipated shortfall in revenues that the school district will shoulder is substantial no matter how you slice it. And lack of that money will either result in reduced programs or increased school taxes. Of course, losing the tax litigation could’ve produced the same or worse result.

In the end, I was especially surprised at the lack of public interest. I suppose I shouldn’t be by now. A cold night indeed.