Nonprofits gain tax relief Schenectady councilman asks improved city alert system after state action
By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer First published: Wednesday, July 9, 2008
SCHENECTADY -- City Council members are looking for ways to better promote a local assessment policy in the wake of six nonprofits having to go all the way to the state Legislature to get their property taxes forgiven. The problem has been simmering since 2006 when new city assessor Patrick Mastro decided that delinquent nonprofits would no longer be allowed to retain their tax-exemption status without filing the appropriate paperwork.
Mastro said state law requires nonprofits to renew their status annually. He said the city sends out multiple letters to remind organizations about the filing date. He defended his actions.
"I agreed to work as assessor in the city and administer the office fairly and lawfully," Mastro said. "A far as exemptions go, the exemption law is specific in that all exemptions must be filed by March 1."
But for a small group of Schenectady nonprofits, including churches, the arrival of tax bills starting in 2007 came as a shock. Some had organizational problems or leadership changes that caused them to miss the deadline. Others were accustomed to their tax exempt status being carried over from year to year.
Councilman Gary McCarthy said it's an embarrassment the groups, which do charitable works, had to go to the state for help, as opposed to just having the city reach out to them.
"They try to do some good. They're not the ones we should be placing additional burdens on because of regulations," McCarthy said.
For example, Ron Cromer, program administrator for the furniture donation organization Home Furnishing Program Inc., said the program's previous organizer died in 2005, and that the city never sent alerted them about the filing.
Cromer's organization along with Mt. Olivet Missionary Baptist Church, Faith Deliverance Tabernacle, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Carver Community Center and Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church, appealed to the state Legislature to have their remaining tax bills forgiven.
Pat Zollinger use to tape the committee meeting and submit them to SACC TV.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
SCHENECTADY City nonprofit’s taxes forgiven Paterson signs legislation restoring exemption status BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
Nearly a year after 15 Schenectady nonprofit groups missed the deadline to file for their annual tax exemption, the governor has begun forgiving their taxes. On Thursday, Gov. David Paterson signed the first of six bills intended to restore the tax exemption of city nonprofits. Legislative aides said it was a precedent-setting decision that would clear the way for all 15 nonprofits to escape their tax bills and possibly even get refunds for taxes they have already paid. The only nonprofit that was forgiven Thursday was Schenectady Home Furnishings Inc., which collects used furniture and gives it to needy families, including fi re victims. The governor is expected to sign the other bills soon. They all relate to the same issue, but each names a different nonprofi t. It’s been a long, stressful year for the nonprofit directors who were named in the bills. They joked that they have learned more about the state legislative process than they ever wanted to know. First they begged the city for help, then took their case to Sen. Hugh Farley, RNiskayuna, and Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady. The men agreed to champion their cause, but once the bills passed the Senate, they dropped into the Assembly Rules Committee, where one version of the bills still remains. Another version — breaking the bill apart so that each nonprofit was named separately — passed the Assembly. But Don Leach of Home Furnishings Inc. nearly panicked when he checked on the original bill at the end of the session and saw it had been abandoned in Rules. He hadn’t realized a different bill had passed. Then came the long wait to see whether the governor would sign the bills. Yesterday, Leach lost hope, thinking the governor has missed the deadline to sign or veto them. “I kept watching the Web site for the list of signed bills, and we had heard the deadline was yesterday,” Leach said after learning that the governor had indeed signed the bill on time. “I am very, very much relieved.” His agency was assessed a tax bill of $5,500 — an almost insurmountable bill on an annual budget of $40,000. “It’s about one-third of the contributions we get in an entire year,” Leach said. Although he can now avoid the final payments for this year, he has already paid $1,400. The jury is still out on whether the city will refund the taxes. The Schenectady City Council has not yet discussed it. “I would like to get a refund, but I understand it’s their choice,” Leach said. Schenectady Home Furnishings Inc. was one of the lucky ones. Only six of the 15 taxed nonprofi ts were included in the state legislation. Farley and Tedisco filed the bills for every nonprofit they were aware of, but could not get a complete list from the city. They now have the full list and are expected to craft bills for all of them.
SCHENECTADY — The long debate over the accidental taxing of Schenectady nonprofits may be nearing an end at last. Gov. David Paterson has signed all of the bills that would exempt the first six nonprofits that did not file their exemptions on time last year. Today, the Schenectady City Council will decide whether to authorize retroactive exemptions for each nonprofit. The council’s committee meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in Room 110 at City Hall. Corporation Counsel L. John Van Norden said he expects all the exemptions to be approved. The only question left is whether the nonprofits will receive a refund for the taxes they’ve already paid. The state legislation allows the city to refund its taxes, Van Norden said. “It authorizes each of the three taxing agencies, in their sole discretion,” Van Norden said. “The city can’t refund taxes paid to the county or the school district.” But the legislation allows those bodies to refund the taxes as well — if they want to, Van Norden said. They could also choose to keep the money. Some nonprofits refused to pay any of their tax bills, arguing that it was unfair. But others made payment plans and attempted to pay off their debt. Today the council will focus on whether to give a refund to Home Furnishings Inc., an agency that provides furniture to the impoverished and fire victims. The agency paid $1,400 of its $5,500 tax bill, sending money to both the city and the county, but said paying the entire bill would devastate the program. The agency would have had to use one-third of its annual donations to pay off the debt. Van Norden had argued vehemently against exempting the nonprofits, saying they should have filed their exemptions on time. Sen. Hugh Farley, R-Niskayuna, attempted to include them all in special legislation exempting their taxes. However, city officials did not give Farley the entire list of affected nonprofits and only six of the 15 nonprofits were included. The senator plans to propose legislation to exempt the others in the next session.
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