Doll: LIPA Challenge a 'Poker Game'

Only locals of a certain age can recall a time when those candy-striped smoke stacks weren’t visible from nearly every neighborhood in the Village of Northport. 

Each stack at the Northport Power Station, owned by National Grid and built in the 1960s, stands 600 feet tall. But the latest power play by the Long Island Power Authority, which distributes the plant’s energy, is casting an even more ominous shadow.

The assessed value of the power plant, and associated refunds LIPA claims it's owed by Huntington, are at the heart of a multimillion-dollar fight that could see taxes spike for all Town of Huntington residents. The financial implications are daunting and it’s left everyone – from the governor on down to the school superintendent – scrambling to understand its impact.

“Like most political issues, it’s a poker game,” Northport Mayor George Doll said. 

Doll met with Supervisor Frank Petrone and Town of Huntington attorneys Thursday as the town fights Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to restructure LIPA and shed debt in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

The biggest losers under the governor’s plan are residents of the Northport-East Northport School District, who will incur a tax increase estimated as high as 60 percent over a 10-year period.

“LIPA has given the Town four months to decide what to do,” Doll said. “If it takes three months and 29 days to make a good decision, then that’s the time they should take.”

While Sens. John Flanagan, R-East Northport, and Carl Marcellino, R-Syosset, back the governor’s plan, Assemb. Andrew Raia, R-East Northport, stands with the town in opposing lowering LIPA’s assessment.

Doll backs any plan that gets Northport residents the best rate possible. He recalls the true intent of a LIPA-backed subsidy for Northport Schools.

“I watched them build that power plant,” Doll said. “I’d say the first 10 years that plant ran, [LILCO] repainted houses in the Northport area every year because of soot. 

“We’ve had oil spills here from that. Cables that go across the Sound break and leak oil. We’ve had issues here related to having that thing in our back yard.” 

In other words, the Power Station has left an environmental legacy that extends several generations and beyond.

“To give us a deal that says we’re not going to ask for back taxes, we’re just going to diminish them as we go forward," Doll said, "maybe that’s not a deal.”

Also clouding the tax fight, according to Doll, are the numbers themselves.  

“I do believe after meeting with Frank [Petrone] that we need accurate numbers," Doll said. "The Town says the assessment of the plant is $3.5 billion. LIPA says the assessment is $1.5 billion. So who assessed them at either of those two numbers?”

The governor's plan also impacts residents in Island Park, Port Jefferson and Glenwood Landing, which also host power facilities.

One scenario has Huntington folding its legal case and agreeing to the governor’s plan. At that point Northport and Asharoken villages may be compelled to band together in a suit against LIPA. 

But Doll sees any legal battle as a financial loser. The village would spend more in legal fees than it would gain in the lawsuit, Doll said.    

“The offer from the governor is there," Doll said. "The Town is still pursuing its case and may end up getting a better deal.

“We have the offer from the governor, which we can take at any time. We can get behind that at any time. The elected officials that represent us feel that’s the best offer right now. But there’s still the possibility of a better offer through the Town’s lawsuit.”

Northport is standing with the town as it hopes for an outcome that won't jolt residents' taxes.