After more than four years, the town of Lysander and Baldwinsville Central School District (BCSD) have settled an assessment dispute with the Anheuser-Busch (A-B) plant located in Lysander.
“If we hadn’t settled, we would have gone to trial next month,” said Lysander Supervisor Barry Bullis. “Through negotiations, we avoided a lengthy trial.”
In 2006, Anheuser-Busch disputed the $96.6 million assessment, arguing the Lysander brewery was valued at $35 million. When In-Bev negotiations were underway, A-B would not discuss a resolution to the lawsuit with the town or school district, Bullis said, adding that once In-Bev took over, A-B proposed a $55 million assessment, then finally a $75 million, which all sides agreed upon.
“This was the first time they agreed to terms that we could accept,” Bullis said.
Having settled on the $75 million assessment, A-B stipulated the town and school district must enter into “good faith” negotiations to discuss a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) program for the brewery, which employs approximately 800 people. Bullis said a committee would most likely be formed to discuss the potential PILOT and would consist of members representing the Lysander Town Board, Baldwinsville Central School District, Anheuser-Busch and Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency.
“[We’ll] talk to see if there is a common ground we can achieve for a PILOT agreement,” Bullis said.
A-B had a PILOT in place through February of this year, at which point the PILOT expired. A PILOT allows a business to make a lump sum payment towards the municipal and school district tax base. In return, the business receives an exemption on a percentage of its overall assessment and must still pay taxes on the unexempt percentage. For example, in the first five years of a 30-year PILOT, 50 percent of a business’ assessment would be exempt and the business would pay taxes on the remaining 50-percent value. Typically, the exemption percentage decreases over the life of the PILOT, so a business may receive a 40-percent exemption in years five through 10, a 30-percent exemption in years 10 through 15, etc.
“[A-B’s tax] payments steadily increased over the past 10 years as the PILOT weaned down,” Bullis said.
With the proceedings settled, Lysander will make tax refund disbursements to A-B totaling near $178,000 ($140,810 for the town’s general fund, $33,085 for the Radisson lighting district, and $3,918.55 for the Radisson water supply district). Lysander will pay a major portion of the tax refund with funds budgeted for the trial ($70,000) and through an unexpected $70,000, which was received from higher than budgeted mortgage tax revenues (the town received $450,000, but only budgeted to receive $380,000). The refund extends over all the tax years that the dispute was in existence (2006 to 2010). A-B, which continued to pay the tax bill until a decision was made (as required by law), also agreed to accept refunds from the town and school district without interest.
The school district, which covers a much larger constituency (both the towns of Lysander and Van Buren, as well as a portion of the town of Clay), owes A-B a greater refund (not available at time of publication). The school district held a special meeting last night at the district office conference room (29 E. Oneida St. in the village) to discuss the matter.
Overall, the town spent an estimated $420,000 in legal fees (since 2006) on this dispute.
“I’m happy that I can get on to doing more productive work,” Bullis said. “I’m particularly pleased that the financial bleeding is done – that’s a relief in today’s economy.”
Stay tuned for more details.
