WPCNR Quill & Eyeshade. By John F. Bailey. January 4, 2008: Verizon, the newest choice for White Plains cable viewers with the Verizon FIOS system, is the latest recipient of the first big certiorari settlement of 2008. However, City Hall countered this bad news with good news on assessments today:
111 Main -- the Verizon Building-- is scheduled to receiver a 50% reduction in their Assessment Monday evening and a $347,000 Tax Refund. However, City assessments are up, City Hall reports today. The Verizon Building is shown at far right of picture, the view is South. The Ritze Carlton is to the left. The Building in the center is the New York Power Authority Building. The picture taken from the WPCNR News Plane is from October 2007.
The tax roll as of January 2, 2008 indicates an overall $1.5 Million increase in the Assessment Roll from $289.9 Million of Assessed Value to $291.4 Million. This, City Executive Officer Paul Wood said, included the latest Verizon settlement. He said it was the first time since 2002-2003 that the city Assessment Roll had increased. Wood said he would have the exact figure on Monday.
Wood also countered the Verizon assessment news with the report that Lloyd Tasch, the Assessor had been successful in getting the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to increase the critical Equalization Rate from 2.69% to 2.75% which eases the impact on city homeowner taxes and limits slightly the devaluation of commerical properties.
Asked if this meant a lower tax increase for the city in 2008-2009, than the 7% property tax increase in 2007-2008, Wood said he hoped so.
Verizon, according to the Common Council backup material will receive a $346,728.16 tax refund from the city, which will be approved on the consent agenda Monday evening. The refund covers the last four tax years 03/04, 04/05, 05/06, and 06/07, and covers their headquarters on 111 Main Street, in the heart of the city’s burgeoning downtown, one block from The Ritz-Carlton
Based on the 4 to 1 ratio of School Taxes to City Taxes, the White Plains City School District will owe Verizon approximately a $1.4 Million tax refund. In a long range effect, Verizon’s assessment on the 111 Main Street property has been lowered $822,400, reducing the building current assessment from $1.6 Million to $777,600.
Verizon is the latest beneficiary of the certiorari crusade which some of the city’s premier properties have launched against the city to reduce their property taxes over the last five years. In November, T & J Realty, Hillside Condominiums and Reckson Properties were granted a total of $429,716 in tax refunds from the city that cost the school district a $1, 424, 204 tax refund.
Wood: Tax Case Could Not Be Considered in Forging Verizon FIOS Franchise Agreement
No connection, but last spring Verizon and the City came to a franchise agreement by which Verizon would pay $250,000 in capital improvement funds to the city’s cable television Public Access Facility, plus a $1 per subscriber fee over the fifteen year term of the agreement.
Asked why the city did not demand more of a capital payment from Verizon on the cable agreement Paul Wood, City Executive Officer, told WPCNR that the city was prohibited legally from using the Verizon pending tax case as leverage in negotiating the franchise agreement.
He said that in two years the City Assessor would be taking a close look at the 111 Main Street Verizon facility, which Wood described as “a computer hotel,” since it housed mostly Verizon technical equipment and not many office workers. Wood indicated that Lloyd Tasch, the City Assessor would be looking at the building in relation to possible escalating values of land along Main Street over the next two years.
