Holley Board of Education approves PILOT agreement

At a regular meeting held Tuesday, July 6, the Holley Central School Board gave its consent to a payment in lieu of tax agreement that would provide additional tax revenue to the school district and provide funds to install a sewer main from Cadbury Way running to the southwest corner of Piedimonte Drive in the Holley Business Park. The payment in lieu of tax, or PILOT agreement, would be between the County of Orleans Industrial Development Agency and MAGC, Inc., which will construct and operate a facility in the Holley Business Park for controlled atmosphere storage, research and development, and produce processing.

A payment in lieu of tax agreement is a tax incentive provided by a municipality to encourage private sector economic development and job creation within its community. It is generally made available through an industrial development agency, and phases in the increase in property taxes associated with improvements to real property over a period of years.

As a result of this agreement, the Holley Central School District would receive more revenue under the PILOT agreement, even after funding for the sewer main is satisfied, than it would otherwise receive based on the uniform tax exemption policy.

The installation of the sewer line would be undertaken by the County of Orleans Industrial Development Agency, and funded out of payments by MAGC, Inc. made under the PILOT agreement. Once installed, the sewer line will be available to all businesses in the Holley Business Park. Any payments under the PILOT agreement over the amount required to fund the sewer main would be allocated to the taxing jurisdictions affected by the PILOT agreement, including the school district. Under this arrangement, the school district would not be required to make any appropriations and would have no obligation with respect to the installation of the sewer main, even if the company loses Empire Zone benefits.

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