Buffalo – Today, December 17, 2012, New York State Assemblyman Sean Ryan blasted the Clarence Industrial Development Agency (CIDA) for refusing to publicly release documents relating to proposed tax breaks for Towne Mini car dealership of Clarence. The CIDA has a board meeting scheduled for December 20th, where tax breaks could be approved for the project. In December, Ryan sent a letter to the CIDA Chairman, Town Supervisor David Hartzell, and demanded that the CIDA release the agenda for the upcoming meeting and any documents related to the proposed Towne Mini deal, under New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). Last Friday, the CIDA responded to Ryan’s request by phone, and stated that documents submitted by Towne Mini regarding proposed tax breaks are ‘confidential’ and will not be released. The representative from the CIDA also refused to release an agenda for the upcoming meeting and said a public hearing will not be held regarding the proposed tax breaks. In a new letter to Supervisor Hartzell, Ryan blasted the secrecy of the CIDA and demanded that they do what is right for the taxpayers of Erie County.

In October, the CIDA rejected the idea of giving tax breaks to the Towne Mini Dealership as they sought to expand their business to a parcel of land located directly across the street from their current dealership on Main Street in Clarence. A month later, the Towne Mini owners came back to the CIDA asking that tax breaks be reconsidered, claiming the project cannot go forward without the taxpayer subsidies. In November, Ryan sent a letter to Supervisor David Hartzell, urging the CIDA to not reconsider their previous decision to reject the tax breaks. Supervisor Hartzell said that “no decision has been made” in regards to the dealership. The CIDA chairman later said that they would “talk about it over the next month” and get back to the dealership with a new decision.

“The Clarence IDA is clearly hiding something from Erie County taxpayers, and at the same time they are not complying with the Freedom of Information Law,” said Assemblyman Ryan. “We all know that they are planning to give out tax breaks to a car dealership at their meeting this week, and they refuse to give the public adequate information regarding the proposed tax breaks. It is absolutely shocking that they would call the documents submitted by Towne Mini ‘confidential’. The public has a right to know why Towne Mini feels they need taxpayer subsidies to expand their business to a parcel of land across the street, land that they already own. Before the Clarence IDA meets on December 20th, they must publicly release their meeting agenda and all supporting documents that Towne Mini has provided to them. And on top of all of this, the Clarence IDA refuses to hold public meetings on the proposed tax breaks to allow the people of Erie County to voice their opinion. The public deserves better from the Clarence IDA, and their secrecy must come to an end.”

“First, a blanket claim of confidentiality is inconsistent with law,” said Robert J. Freeman, Executive Director of the New York State Committee on Open Government. “And second, in consideration of prior disclosures, it appears that few elements of the records requested could justify refusal. Only to the extent that it can be demonstrated that a substantial injury to the competitiveness of the enterprise will occur, may material be justifiably withheld.”

Ryan has called on the IDAs to stop giving away tax subsidies that do little to create good paying jobs that benefit the entire region. Property and sales tax breaks given out by IDA’s in Erie County mean less revenue for every single municipality and school district in Erie County. In addition, tax breaks are often given to businesses that are already planning to expand, as was the case with the Premier Liquor deal in Amherst. IDAs approving tax break deals for donut shops, liquor stores, yoga studios and other retail projects have prompted Ryan to call for reform of the IDA system in Erie County. Ryan has also introduced legislation to reform the way IDAs do business in Erie County, and will continue to push IDA reform in the upcoming legislative session.

The Clarence IDA website lists agenda’s and minutes of board meetings. However, the agendas section has not been updated since June, and the minutes section since August.

“These actions by the Clarence IDA continue to show that our IDAs are out of control. They act like they are not accountable to the public, and have unlimited power to give away taxpayer money. Reforming the way our IDAs do business continues to be necessary, and doing so will help to foster true economic growth in our region. In the coming weeks I will outline an IDA reform agenda to hold them accountable.”

A copy of Ryan’s letter appears below. For more information contact Assemblyman Ryan’s office at 716-885-9630. Robert J. Freeman can be contacted at 518-474-2518.

December 17, 2012

Hon. David Hartzell
Supervisor
Town of Clarence
One Town Place
Clarence, NY 14031

Dear Supervisor Hartzell:

I write today to follow up on my FOIA request from earlier this month. My office received a phone call from your Counsel, Lawrence Meckler, this past Friday regarding my request for documents submitted by Towne Mini to justify their request for tax breaks from the Clarence IDA (CIDA). Sadly, Mr. Meckler informed my staff that such documents are ‘confidential’ and will not be released. He also said that an agenda will not be released for your board meeting this week, and no public hearings will be held in relation to proposed tax breaks for the Towne Mini dealership. What is truly unfortunate is that I am not surprised by this level of secrecy from the CIDA. The taxpayers of Erie County deserve to know if you are going to approve tax breaks for Towne Mini, and why Towne Mini feels they are entitled to these tax breaks. If you give out property, sales, and mortgage recording tax breaks to this car dealership, every municipality and school district in Erie County will lose funding. All of this just to subsidize a retail business that is already planning to expand their business, even without taxpayer assistance. It should also be noted that if Towne Mini receives these subsidies, they will be putting all other nearby car dealerships at a competitive disadvantage.

I ask one simple question, what is the CIDA trying to hide from the public? The CIDA should immediately post the agenda and any supplemental documents for the December 20th meeting on your website. The public has a right to know what the CIDA will be doing at this meeting. We all know that you are planning to give out public money to Towne Mini at this meeting and it is outrageous that you refuse to give the public adequate information regarding the proposed tax breaks. The actions by the CIDA regarding this deal continue to show that our IDAs are out of control. You do not have unlimited power, and you are supposed to be held accountable to the public whose tax dollars you are giving away like monopoly money. The public deserves better from the CIDA, and your secrecy must come to an end.

I would also like to point out one final time, that Towne Mini is already making plans to expand. They already own the land they want to expand onto, and there is a sign on that land that says “Future Home of Town Mini.” Clearly they are going forward with this expansion even without taxpayer subsidies. Rejecting tax breaks for this retail business is the only right thing to do. And in the best interest of transparency, the CIDA should make the upcoming meeting agenda publicly available and release all necessary documents relating to this deal. I look forward to hearing from regarding this important matter.

Sincerely,
Sean M. Ryan
NYS Assemblyman, 144th District