To the editor:
There have been some questions or concerns raised by a few individuals at our Lysander Town Board meetings concerning the recent action by the board to “opt-out” of the tax breaks for solar installations. Had we not done this, solar installations would have been exempt from paying taxes for 15 years. While I cannot speak for the Baldwinsville school board, they did exactly as we did, and we were pleased to see this consensus emerge.
Solar energy installations, both commercial and residential, are already highly subsidized, meaning that each of us as taxpayers is providing a portion of the dollars that would be spent to install such systems by one’s neighbors as well as any commercial venture. Commercial solar businesses do not provide more jobs to the community, and for the most part are initiatives run by businesses outside of the community, which take advantage of the tax breaks for installation and whatever payback from the utility companies that would be derived from the sale of energy produced. Whatever the merits of that business model, we felt strongly that as a business they should be treated the same as any other business in our community — our neighborhood shops, stores, service providers, etc., none of which receive any tax breaks — and pay taxes no differently than these. Furthermore, the town board made sure in the new solar law that there are requirements that in the event a commercial solar farm is abandoned or it reaches the end of it useful life, the owner must make provisions through bonding for the dismantling of the installation at no cost to the town and its taxpayers.
As far as homeowners, we felt we should all be treated fairly and equally in this town. While it might be considered meritorious to have a solar system installed, why should we consider that any different than any other improvement to one’s home, such as a pool or an addition? Our tax assessor has also indicated that a home’s assessed value would likely only change insignificantly, so the impact of this opt-out would be minor. If the thought that as an alternative energy, government ought to provide a tax break, then ought we provide a tax break for those who purchase a wood stove or purchase a more energy efficient heating system, or for that matter, keep their thermostat turned down low. Keep in mind that a resident can still take advantage of the huge tax incentives from the federal and state government to install such systems.
For these reasons it seemed that the fairest thing to do was to keep the playing field level as far as taxes are concerned. For those that suggest that creating PILOT agreements (payment in lieu of taxes) would have been appropriate, from my standpoint, PILOTs can be a tool used to attract and/or retain businesses that truly generate jobs as well as revenue to the community. Clearly solar does not do this.
Bob Geraci
Lysander Town Board
