[ NEWS FROM THE WEEK PAST ]
Gates officials pursue casino
Town of Gates officials submitted a proposal to the Seneca Nation of Indians for a casino at the Rochester Tech Park, reported YNN. Town Supervisor Mark Assini told the news station that the park’s proximity to Route 531 and its available space are assets. During the state budget process, lawmakers discussed legalizing non-Indian casinos upstate, but they didn’t reach an agreement.
Legislators wrap up state budget
New York legislators and Governor Andrew Cuomo delivered their third consecutive on-time budget and the state’s earliest budget since 1983. The $135 billion spending plan includes a minimum wage increase, tax credits and incentives for businesses, a $1 billion increase in education funding, cuts to programs for people with developmental disabilities, and a property tax rebate for some homeowners.
RPO suit postponed
A planned court hearing in a lawsuit against the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra was postponed until Friday, April 5.
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APRIL 3-9, 2013
Attorney Eileen Buholtz is suing to invalidate the RPO board’s January 23 annual meeting, including the results of board member elections. Buholtz ran for a board seat as a write-in candidate and in her lawsuit she argues that RPO officials didn’t properly notify all of the organization’s members who would have been eligible to vote. She also alleges that RPO officials didn’t recognize write-in ballots submitted at the annual meeting.
News POLITICS | BY JEREMY MOULE
Cuomo compromises on IDA reform
DOMA, Prop 8 before Supremes
The US Supreme Court heard arguments regarding the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California. Though it is extremely difficult to predict how the justices will rule, many believe there will not be a sweeping ruling favoring same sex-sex couples across the country. Rulings in the two cases, which have been described as the most historic cases involving civil rights in years, are not expected before May.
When Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed a series of reforms for the state’s industrial development agencies, IDA representatives and local elected officials protested. Cuomo essentially wanted to restrict the agencies’ ability to grant exemptions on state sales tax, but local officials said that would rob them of a useful economic development incentive.
Governor Andrew Cuomo didn’t get the IDA reforms he wanted in the 2013 to 2014 budget. PHOTO BY MARK CHAMBERLIN
Well, perhaps predictably, Cuomo’s proposal didn’t stick; lawmakers negotiated and passed a compromise reform package last week. In his 2013 to 2014 budget proposal, the governor said that the state doesn’t currently have input when IDA’s award state sales tax exemptions. He proposed limiting the industries that could receive the exemptions: housing and retail would no longer have been eligible. He also wanted the regional economic development councils and the state economic development commissioner to sign off on the exemptions. But the final legislation is quite different from that proposal: IDA’s will still be able to award state sales tax exemptions and no additional approvals will be required. The agencies will have some additional
reporting requirements, but they won’t face much in the way of restrictions on which industries can receive tax benefits. Some analyses of the legislation say it prevents IDA’s from giving state sales tax exemptions to some retail projects. IDA representatives and many local elected officials — though not all — are counting the outcome as a victory. But Brighton Supervisor Bill Moehle says he’s disappointed that the governor’s proposed reforms didn’t stick. Brighton officials have been critical of the Monroe County IDA in the past, saying it awards tax breaks to inappropriate projects. “I like the idea of having the state oversight on the sales tax,” Moehle says.