Daily Archives: April 11, 2012

Companies could regain Empire Zone benefits this month

Posted on April 11, 2012 by | Leave a comment

State officials are aiming for a decision this month on whether to repay millions of dollars of Empire Zone tax credits to as many as 40 companies.
The businesses in question used to receive Empire Zone benefits, once New York’s signature business incentives. At its peak, 9,000 companies received a combined $550 million or more per year.

The state changed Empire Zone rules in 2009, and businesses were removed if their performance from past years did not meet the new requirements—sparking outrage in the business community.

Since then, companies have been suing the state—and many are winning. Empire State Development Corp. on April 10 revived an appeals board to take fresh looks at certain cases, an action prompted by court rulings against the state.

If a company wins its appeal, the state will pay back tax credits it had revoked, dating to 2008. Winning companies will also remain in the Empire Zone program for future years, as they would have if the state had never removed them in the first place.

The board set an April 30 target for final votes on whether to readmit companies into the Empire Zone program, or reject their appeals again.
Only a unanimous 7-0 vote will allow a company back into the program. The board’s next public meetings are April 16 and 17, where it will go over each case.

A company can get its tax credits back if board members rule that “extraordinary circumstances” merit restoring the benefits. One hitch: The board first has to define what that term means.

“There is nothing in statute that guides us—literally, nothing,” said Tom Regan, a state attorney.

Attorneys for the board said companies cannot now come out of the woodwork to try to recover benefits, because their window of time to challenge the state’s decisions has passed. The board is only reviewing companies that sued the state, winning a second chance to get their tax credits back.

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Even Without New Contracts, Many Public Employees Get Raises

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Public employees are working without contracts in cities and counties across New York State, as labor negotiations stall because local governments say they cannot afford to raise wages.

But many union members are still taking home larger paychecks, thanks to a state law that allows workers to continue receiving longevity-based salary increases after their contracts expire.

The pattern is seen throughout the state. All labor contracts in Albany, New Rochelle and Yonkers have expired. So have seven of nine contracts in Syracuse, six of eight in Buffalo and most of the contracts in New York City.

And the same trend is unfolding at the county level. The New York State Association of Counties surveyed 17 counties at the request of The New York Times and found that 41 of 67 labor contracts had expired.

Each side blames the other for the holdup. But it is clear that in many cases, unions are strategically deciding they are better off stalling negotiations now, given the grim financial picture. That is partly because New York’s 30-year-old Triborough Amendment guarantees that the terms of public labor contracts remain in place even after they expire.

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Cuomo to Veto Pork Spending in Budget

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo is set to issue 129 line-item vetoes to the state’s recently passed $132.6 billion state budget, 122 of which will go to axe spending that Cuomo has deemed as new member items within the plan.

In an interview on Talk 1300-AM in Albany this morning, Cuomo said the member-item vetoes add up to about $640,000 in spending. The other seven vetoes will go to correct “technical” errors within the voluminous budget documents, Cuomo said.

An advisory from Cuomo’s office said the pork-barrel spending was added “after executive submission.” He didn’t detail exactly which items he would veto, but his office said a list will be available on the governor’s website later today.

The final budget was passed by lawmakers on March 30, ahead of the state’s fiscal year beginning on April 1. Today is the last day Cuomo can veto any lines within the budget.

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Cuomo on acceptable and unacceptable pork

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo is vetoing roughly 120 member item appropriations in this year’s budget, but defended the spending plan for allowing up to $38 million in cash to be applied against the old pork backlog.

Lawmakers make appropriations — promises to spend money on scoreboards for little leagues or vans for meals on wheels programs, say — like candy, but finding and devoting cash to back them up is a different matter. There’s currently a backlog of $230 million.

Cuomo explained that he’s targeting changes within the backlog, but let stand promises that were simply re-authorized.

“There’s a commonality: these are new member items to my definition,” he said at a firehouse in Middleburgh, announcing the state will shoulder the cost of flood recovery. “We have honored the past appropriations … I believe these are new.”

“This was a grant to the ABC community group, and they reprogram it to the DEF group. That, I believe is a new member item,” Cuomo explained. “An organization like the one we’re in today could have received a member item. I went through those as the attorney general, if I didn’t find a legal purpose the state flagged it at that time. But if the state made a commitment to an organization, or if there was a budget item allocation as part of a past budget deal, I understand that. I can’t go back, you know? I can only go forward, and what I said as governor is there will be no new member items, and I consider these new member items.”

The budget also contains $30 million in undelineated “bullet aid” for school districts, which is distributed at legislators’ discretion. This spending has also been derided as pork.

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Cuomo Says Bond With Morelle Should Help, Not Hinder, His Chances As Assembly Leader

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo went to bat for Assemblyman Joseph Morelle’s chances at becoming the second most powerful person in the Assembly, saying today that his relationship with Morelle should help, not hurt, Morelle’s chance for the job.

“Joe Morelle, I think is outstanding on a personal level,” Cuomo said on Fred Dicker’s radio show. “I also think I have no place to comment. It’s the speaker’s decision.”

But Cuomo continued, “I don’t think it’s true that because I have a positive relationship with Morelle or anyone else would be viewed as a negative by the speaker. The speaker and I have a very productive and collegial relationship.”

Cuomo is close with Morelle, the Irondequoit, Monroe County, Democrat. Morelle backed Cuomo unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2002, for example, despite the party’s support of then-Comptroller Carl McCall.

(In fact, left is an archive photo of Cuomo during the 2002 campaign with Morelle in Rochester.)

Some have viewed Morelle’s relationship with Cuomo as a negative to him getting Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s support as majority leader. Silver might want someone who is less allied with Cuomo and more independent from the executive branch, the belief goes.

Aware of that sentiment, Cuomo sought to argue just the opposite this morning, saying that he and the Legislature have built a strong relationship since he took office in 2011.

“I would be shocked if the speaker had anything other than a positive reaction to someone who could get along with me in a collegial way because he himself has that relationship,” Cuomo said.

Morelle has stayed away from speculating about his future, telling Gannett’s Albany Bureau yesterday that he wanted to focus on the good work of the current Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari, D-Cohoes, Albany County, who is retiring from the post at year’s end.

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Morelle: “I Don’t Think This Is A Position You Apply For”

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Assemblyman Joseph Morelle, D-Irondequoit, Monroe County, said today that he will trust Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to decide who’s the next Assembly majority leader.

Morelle wouldn’t say if he’ll seek the second-in-command post, but said it would be Silver’s call and not something “you apply for.”
“I think the speaker knows the people in our conference. He knows each of us has certain strengths and weaknesses, and I don’t think this is a position you apply for,” Morelle said in an telephone interview with Gannett’s Albany Bureau. “I think it’s one that the speaker ought to be allowed to make the judgment he thinks is best for the conference and the institution. I’m fully confident he will do that.”

Morelle will undoubtedly be on the short list for Silver as he decides—likely in December—who will succeed Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari, D-Cohoes, Albany County, who announced his retirement yesterday.
Morelle is close to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Cuomo had kind words earlier today for Morelle.

Silver has sole authority to name his top lieutenant, and Morelle said he’s comfortable with whatever Silver decides.

“It’s a decision that the speaker needs to make,” Morelle said. “And obviously we all trust him to make the right pick. He’s picked two majority leaders during his speakership and they have both been outstanding, both as majority leaders and as colleagues. I’m sure we all trust he’ll do what’s right by the body.”

Morelle started by offering praise of Canestrari, saying people should honor the well-liked Canestrari’s five-year tenure as majority leader before speculating about his successor.

He said Canestrari “has been an amazing friend and colleague. So I think it’s more appropriate to first focus on Ron’s significant contributions. And that’s what I think today, tomorrow, next week, the next several weeks ought to be about.”

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