WHEREAS, local taxing authorities with jurisdiction over a school district, town, city or village are elected by taxpayers to, among other things, develop budgets and levy taxes; and

WHEREAS, democracy is best served when taxpayers are represented by elected representatives with a detailed understanding of local issues and how their local budgets are developed and allocated; and

WHEREAS, appointed boards like Industrial Development Agencies may not be as aware of local fiscal issues as elected officials and less mindful of unintended consequences that regional programs could have on local jurisdictions and economies;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Education supports the concepts of (1) Industrial Development Agencies requiring applicants for projects to conduct a “Community Economic Impact Review” for the purpose of gathering information and providing a clear understanding of the impact of a project on local taxing authorities by, for example, answering a series of questions developed by county comptrollers, the NYS Comptroller and local taxing authorities; (2) requiring that Industrial Development Agencies hold a public Economic Impact Scoping Session at the expense of the applicant prior to consideration and approval of any application; and (3) prohibiting Industrial Development Agencies from approving applications if two or more local taxing authorities have raised objections that have not been mitigated or resolved; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the District Clerk is directed to send a copy of this resolution to State Senator John Bonacic and State Assemblyman Kevin Cahill with a request that legislation be introduced to address this issue.

BOE Approved 3/18/15