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The public hearing is set for 11 a.m. Monday, April 7 in the Joseph G. Caputo Community Center in Ossining.
"As you may know the Town of Ossining said no to the PILOT but it appears it will move forward for the Village of Ossining, Ossining Schools and Library, as well as Westchester County," said Town Supervisor Susanne Donnelly. "I know I will be there because we feel that PILOT should be for commercial properties bringing jobs into the community not to enhance the profits of a developer."
The following is a portion of the statement from the December 2013 Supervisor's Update, courtesy the Town of Ossining:
The Town has passed a resolution objecting to the proposed PILOT for Harbor Square. After extensive review, we have determined that it is not in the best interest of the community to allow this PILOT to go through. At the December 10th, 2013 meeting of the Town Board when this resolution was on the agenda, I read the following statement on behalf of most of the Town Board:
“The Town of Ossining welcomes development of real property that is fully within the law. We understand that an owner of a property is fully within its right to develop as they so choose, but it must be in accordance with all applicable laws, including the payment of property taxes.
In the current economic environment, tax revenues that we need to provide necessary services are lower- our mortgage tax revenues are lower, sales tax revenues are lower, franchise tax revenues are lower, property tax revenues are lower. That is why, now, more than ever, we must stand firm on equity and fairness.
We cannot support a proposed PILOT, or Payment In Lieu of Taxes, that will unquestionably increase the demand for services, but shifts the tax burden in excess of $2.3 million onto our taxpayers.
The developer of Harbor Square seeks permission to circumvent the property tax laws that apply to all property owners in the Town of Ossining.
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