S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2166
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 14, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. JACOBSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Real Property Taxation
 
 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.
              

                                                            LBD06104-02-1

 A. 2166                             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.  The  City  was required to produce a
 trial-ready property appraisal in September 2019, but those  proceedings
 were  adjourned  to  May 2020, and no appraisal was filed as a result of
 the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions that  closed  or  signif-
 icantly  curtailed  the  operation  of  the New York state court system.
 During the time such court operations were limited, the  City  continued
 to  protect  its  interests by filing tax certiorari proceedings for the
 subsequent years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 under Orange County Index  Nos.
 EF005909-2019 and EF003957-2020. The City will have to undertake signif-
 icant  additional  expenses to resolve the aforementioned tax certiorari
 proceedings if the tax relief sought 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.