No tax abatements without representation

As is evident from our two previous editorials on the subject (“No abatements,” May 25, 2006 and “Spinelessness strikes again, January 4, 2007), we were disgusted with the Sullivan County Industrial Development Agency’s (IDA) recent decision to grant the Millenium Pipeline Company a tax abatement. The company’s position that it wouldn’t lay the line without such a break was clearly a bluff; three multi-billion-dollar corporations, two of them in the Fortune 500, own it. They didn’t need the tax abatement, and our overburdened working-class residents certainly could have used the relief provided by the income foregone.

Change appears to be needed at the IDA, and we have therefore been heartened to learn that change is in the offing. Specifically, the imposition of specific terms of service, term limits and a broadening of the composition of membership have been proposed.

Though these proposals came directly in the wake of the pipeline decision, the legislators discussing it have not said that the two things are related. In any case, it would be hard to come up with any structure that would guarantee the change we need most: getting IDA members who have the savvy and backbone to resist being bluffed by the rich big boys who will increasingly be coming to town hoping for easy pickings. But the ideas discussed are at least a step in the right direction—or could be, if handled the right way. We believe, in particular, that the idea of drawing members from outside the business community ought to go further than the already-mooted suggestion of adding a representative of labor.

The mission of the IDA, as stated on its website, is to “promote economic welfare, recreation opportunities, prevent unemployment and economic deterioration, ensure the prosperity of Sullivan County residents, and promote tourism and trade.” The tools they use to do so—tax relief and bond issuance—are limited, but both the scope of its goals and the impact of its decisions on taxpayers are broad enough that we believe the decision-making process can only be improved by a corresponding broadening of the perspectives represented.

Representation from the agricultural community would be one obvious possibility: after all, agriculture is the county’s biggest economic sector, as well as probably its most vulnerable. Its survival and promotion are key to preserving the qualities that keep tourists coming here and second-home owners moving in. Another idea would be to get a representative of the senior community, which, in addition to being a voice for the fixed-income sector, is a reservoir of experience and knowledge whose value has been clearly illustrated by the activities of the Senior Legislative Action Committee.

We also think representation of environmental/green interests could be a constructive addition to the agency. There is a stereotype of environmentalists as opposed to growth, a position that, of course, would be anathema on an IDA. But most environmentalists and environmental organizations in fact recognize that growth is necessary and important, while making the all-important distinction between growth that is constructive in the long run and that which is ultimately destructive. The asset they could bring to the table would be this special aptitude for thinking in terms of long-term consequences and the big picture, enhancing the ability of the agency to evaluate short-term costs versus long-term benefits, and vice versa.

Whether or not these specific ideas for enriching the decision-making processes of the IDA are the best ones, the basic concept of diversification beyond the business-labor duo deserves serious consideration. Legislator Rodney Gaebel is reported as saying, with regard to such proposals, “I don’t know where that would begin and end.” Well, it might just begin and end with a board constructed to reflect a broader swath of perspectives and talents, fostering an economic creativity that maximizes the return on our hard-earned tax dollars. What’s the problem with that?

Dr. Punnybone

Sleepy Hollow-Core Door