NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5060
SPONSOR: Jacobson 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 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 states that the exemption would be the increase in the assess-
ment 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 sets forth the effective date which is immediately.
JUSTIFICATION:
This legislation would exempt the City of Newburgh from paying real
property taxes related with respect 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 to 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. constructeda 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 contaminated 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.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2019-2020: A8296 - Referred to Assembly Real Property Taxation Committee
S6455 - Referred to Senate Local Government Committee
2021-2022: A2166 - Referred to Assembly Real Property Taxation Committee
2023-2024: A952 - Referred to Assembly Real Property Taxation Committee
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
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.
