<!--Mark Scheer--><table width="234" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" background="http://static.cnhi.zope.net/flashpromo/niagaragazette/images/byline_234x60.jpg" height="60"><tr><td><div align="center"><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By Mark Scheer</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></font><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="mailto:mark.scheer@niagara-gazette.com">mark.scheer@niagara-gazette.com</a></font></div></td></tr></table>
The head of the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency on Wednesday gave a presentation aimed at explaining his agency’s role in the City of Niagara Falls.
And while the overview was created for the benefit of Mayor Paul Dyster and members of his administration, none of them got the message, leaving NCIDA Chairman Henry Sloma to state his case to members of his own board and a handful of residents.
Sloma’s slideshow, titled the “Impact of Niagara County Industrial Development Agency Programs in the City of Niagara Falls,” came in response to concerns raised weeks ago by Dyster and his top economic advisor, Peter Kay. Both men openly questioned the agency’s handling of tax break agreements offered to company’s within city limits.
Neither Dyster nor Kay attended Wednesday’s meeting.
In his presentation, Sloma painted a portrait of Niagara Falls as a city with a shrinking tax base, a declining industrial sector, an abundance of vacant parcels and high unemployment. In short, he described the city as a place that is in dire need of the type of economic development assistance the NCIDA can provide. Sloma insisted that tax break agreements offered by his agency to companies doing business in the Falls have improved the city’s economy significantly. According to Sloma’s numbers, a total of 26 payment-in-lieu-of-taxes deals were approved by the agency between 2000 and 2009, resulting in more than $183.5 million worth of investment, the retention of 470 jobs and the creation of another 613 in the city. During the same time period, Sloma said agency PILOTs have resulted in more than $32 million in new revenue being generated by for local taxing jurisdictions, with roughly $17 million of it going directly to the city.
“When we develop something in the City of Niagara Falls, or any city for that matter, it helps carry the load in the county,” Sloma said. “That’s what we do. So, it’s not just about the city. There seems to be this focus on just the city. It’s about the entire county benefits, the taxpayers in Lockport or in Wheatfield or wherever benefit.”
Reached by telephone following Wednesday’s meeting, Dyster said his administration appreciates and is grateful for what the NCIDA has to offer in terms of incentive programs. He said the core issue remains the agency’s approach when it comes to answering questions about projects that have lasting impacts on the local taxing jurisdictions such as the city.
“When there’s a project that’s specifically a Niagara Falls project, we’d like them to try to make our economic development department aware of it so we can coordinate incentives,” Dyster said. “We just think everybody’s best interests would be served if we coordinated our policies.”
The latest discussion on the city’s relationship with the county’s IDA came on a day when board members unanimously approved a new 10-year tax break agreement with SAI Lodging, LLC, a company that is looking to invest $6 million in the development of a new, five-story, 79-room hotel at 643 Rainbow Blvd.
Lockport mayor and NCIDA board member Michael Tucker said the hotel deal was the latest example of the agency providing help to Niagara Falls. He suggested leaders in that community should be more appreciative of the NCIDA’s efforts and said he thought it was “rude” of Niagara Falls officials to fail to respond to Sloma’s invitation for a meeting.
“I don‘t know if it bothers anybody else here, but it bothers me,” he said.
Fellow board member, the Rev. Kevin Dobbs, a Falls resident, agreed that it was “discouraging” that the city did not respond to Sloma’s letter, but said it should not preclude the agency from doing business with Niagara Falls in the future.
Board member and Niagara Falls School District attorney Angelo Massaro said agency officials should give Dyster the benefit of the doubt and make more of an effort to contact him, either in writing or even by telephone.
Massaro also challenged Sloma’s depiction of Niagara Falls, noting that many of the economic indicators he provided in he presentation could be applied to the cities of North Tonawanda and Lockport as well. He asked Sloma and agency staff to examine unemployment rates, vacant parcels, tax rates and other data from those two cities and provide a similar presentation on the findings at a future meeting.
“I don’t think it’s fair to look at it in a myopic way for the City of Niagara Falls,” Massaro said. “I’d like to see a comparison.”
Dyster said the city has every intention of meeting with NCIDA officials to discuss its concerns and in recent weeks has met with Massaro and a couple of other board members to state its case. Dyster said the letter he received from Sloma requested a meeting, but did not indicate a specific date, nor did it request the mayor or his staff to attend Wednesday’s meeting.
“We didn’t know they were inviting us to the regularly scheduled board meeting for a presentation,” Dyster said. “It seems like somebody’s looking for a fight, but it’s not the City of Niagara Falls.”
At Massaro’s recommendation, Sloma indicated he would make another attempt to contact Dyster to arrange a time for a future get together. He added that he believes it is important for both parties to clear the air and move forward.
“I think the missing piece in this is understanding,” Sloma said. “I don’t think they appreciate what we’re doing here. I think we needed time to explain it.”
Dyster said he too would be willing to discuss the situation with Sloma and other NCIDA officials because he also wants to clear the air about the city’s true intentions.
“We don’t want to be criticized for raising concerns that we think have to be raised to protect the citizens of Niagara Falls,” Dyster said. “That’s our job.”
