NY State Senate Bill 2019-S6455

Senate Bill S6455

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Provides for a partial real property tax exemption for the water filtration plant for the City of Newburgh, Orange County, New York

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Local Government Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to local government
Jun 11, 2019	referred to rules

2019-S6455 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8296
Current Committee:: Senate Local Government
Law Section:: Newburgh, City of
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S1891, A2166
2023-2024: A952

2019-S6455 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides for a partial real property tax exemption for the water filtration plant for the City of Newburgh, Orange County, New York.

2019-S6455 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S6455

SPONSOR: SKOUFIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act providing for a partial real property tax
exemption for the water filtration plant for the City of Newburgh,
Orange County, New York

 
PURPOSE:

This legislation would exempt the increased assessment of the City of
Newburgh Water Filtration plant due to the construction of the granular
activated treatment facility (GAC system).

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: This section states the legislative intent and gives the
history of the situation and the need for a partial tax exemption for
the City of Newburgh water filtration plant.

Section 2: This section explains that the exemption would be the
increase in the assessment of the water filtration plant due to

construction of the GAC system. Any past due taxes would be cancelled.
The City of Newburgh would discontinue its pending tax certiorari
proceedings against the Town of New Windsor.

Section 3: Effective immediately.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This legislation would exempt the City of Newburgh from paying real
property taxes related to the granular activated treatment facility (GAC
system) located at its water filtration plant to the Town of New Windsor
and the Newburgh Enlarged City School District.

In 2014, potential contaminants, including PFOA and PFOS, were detected
in Washington Lake, the primary source of the City's drinking water at
levels. In May 2015, when the EPA established new acceptable levels at
70 ppt, it was discovered that the levels of PFOA and PFOS were at 170
ppt, well beyond the acceptable standards. At that time, an emergency
was declared and the City of Newburgh stopped using water from Washing-
ton Lake. New York State stepped in too after it was determined that the
source of contamination was firefighting foam used at Stewart Air
National Guard Base.

In addition to funding a temporary water supply hookup to another
source, the State constructed a granular activated carbon treatment
facility ("GAC system") at the City's water filtration plant to remove
contaminants from the water in Washington Lake. The GAC system became
operational in 2018, although the City of Newburgh has not yet hooked up
to Washington Lake since the source of the contamination at Stewart has
not been remediated.

The City's water filtration plants and the GAC system are located in the
towns of Newburgh and New Windsor in Orange County. But while Orange
County and the Town of Newburgh have exempted the City's water supply
plants from real property taxation, the City pays real property taxes to
the Town of New Windsor and the Newburgh Enlarged City School District.
Moreover, the Town of New Windsor reassessed the value of the City's

water filtration plant following the construction of the GAC system,
resulting in a substantial increase in taxes.

Since the contamination of the water supply and subsequent construction
of the GAC system were unanticipated and were due to no fault of the
City of Newburgh, it is unfair to the residents of the City of Newburgh
to pay taxes on the GAC system. But for the PFOA/PFOS contamination of
the water supply, the construction of the GAC system would have been
unnecessary and never have taken place.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state. The City of Newburgh will save approximately $250,000
in annual taxes to the Newburgh Enlarged City School District and
approximately $50,000 in annual taxes to the Town of New Windsor.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2019-S6455 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6455
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               June 11, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT providing for a partial real property tax exemption for the water
   filtration plant for the City of Newburgh, Orange County, New York
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds as follows:
   a. In 2014, potential contaminants, including Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl
 Substances  (PFAS)  were detected in Lake Washington, the primary source
 for the drinking water supply for the City of Newburgh in Orange County,
 New York ("the City"). At the time, the level of  contamination  was  at
 170  ppt, below the 400 ppt limit then recommended by the U.S.  Environ-
 mental Protection Agency ("EPA"). When the EPA set a new level of 70 ppt
 for short-term exposure in May 2016, the City manager declared an  emer-
 gency.
   b.  The  source  of  contamination  was  determined  to  be  PFOS- and
 PFAS-containing firefighting foam used at  Stewart  Air  National  Guard
 Base  for  training and emergency purposes.  In August 2016, Stewart Air
 National Guard Base was designated as a state Superfund site to hold the
 U.S. Department of Defense responsible for full site clean-up.
   c. New York State stepped in to assist with and fund the City's  water
 supply  hookup  to  Brown's Pond and then to the Catskill Aqueduct for a
 longer term, temporary water source. The State also constructed a granu-
 lar activated carbon treatment facility ("GAC  system")  at  the  City's
 water filtration plant to remove PFAS from the water in Washington Lake.
 The GAC system became operational in 2018.
   d.  The  City's water filtration plants and the GAC system are located
 outside the municipal boundaries of the City in the  towns  of  Newburgh
 and  New  Windsor  in  Orange  County.  Both  the county and the town of
 Newburgh have exempted the City's water supply plants from real property
 taxation. The City pays real property taxes annually to the town of  New
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD13118-01-9

 S. 6455                             2
 
 Windsor, and to the Newburgh Enlarged City School District and the Corn-
 wall Central School District.
   e. Following the construction of the GAC system, the town of New Wind-
 sor  reassessed  the value of the City's water filtration plant in light
 of the constructed improvements. The reassessment resulted in a substan-
 tial increase in the property tax value and, thus, in taxes.  The  taxes
 for   the  Newburgh  Enlarged  City  School  District  alone  rose  from
 $49,604.25 during the  2016-2017  tax  assessment  year  to  $303,046.59
 during  the  2018-2019  tax  assessment  year,  an  increase  of  nearly
 $250,000.00.
   f. The City has commenced tax certiorari proceedings  in  the  Supreme
 Court  of  the State of New York, County of Orange for the 2017-2018 and
 2018-2019  tax  assessment  years  bearing  Orange  County  Index   Nos.
 EF005922-2017  and  EF007932-2018.  Due  to the timing of the City's tax
 certiorari proceedings, the City is required to  produce  a  trial-ready
 property  appraisal in September 2019 and will have to undertake signif-
 icant expense this summer to complete this appraisal if the  tax  relief
 cannot be obtained by legislative action.
   g.  But  for  the  PFAS  contamination of the City's water supply, the
 construction of the GAC system as an improvement  to  the  City's  water
 filtration  plant property would have been unnecessary. The construction
 of the GAC system has resulted in unbudgeted and  unforeseen  costs  and
 expenses to the City through no fault of its own.
   §  2.  a.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions of section 406 of the real
 property tax law or any other law,  rule  or  regulation,  the  City  of
 Newburgh  shall  be  entitled  to a partial exemption from real property
 taxes imposed by the town of New Windsor,  the  Newburgh  Enlarged  City
 School District and the Cornwall Central School District. Such exemption
 shall  be granted to the extent of the increase in the assessment of the
 water filtration plant property attributable to the construction of  the
 GAC system.
   b.  As  a  condition  of  such  exemption, the City shall withdraw and
 discontinue all of its tax certiorari proceedings against  the  town  of
 New Windsor.
   c. The town of New Windsor, the Newburgh Enlarged City School District
 and   the  Cornwall  Central  School  District  shall  make  appropriate
 corrections to the subject rolls, provide for the refund of those  taxes
 paid  and  cancel  any  taxes,  fines,  penalties, interest or tax liens
 remaining unpaid.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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