Petrone, Cuthbertson Seek Support from Community, State over LIPA Tax Grievance

Town of Huntington supervisor Frank Petrone and Councilman Mark Cuthbertson reaffirmed their desire to see the National Grid/LIPA tax grievance over the Northport power plant dismissed.

To that end, they requested the support of town residents at a rally launching the town's campaign against the grievance on Wednesday.

The rally, which took place just feet from the LIPA plant at the , was the first step in a town campaign to challenge the grievance, which requests a re-evaluation of the value of the plant. The message of the rally was clear; the town is going to fight LIPA's grievance, and stressed that opposition from within the community needed to be vocal in order for it to work.

A Fight for the Local Districts
The re-evaluation of the plant would greatly reduce the $70 million in taxes that LIPA currently pays to the Town, which play a tremendous part in supporting the and as well as the Northport fire district. Petrone recently held a meeting between leaders of these local groups to make sure that they were all on the same page.

"We have a common goal here," Petrone told the citizens at the rally, "and that's [to protect] the taxpayer and the taxes that will be affected. Each jurisdiction is somewhat different, but we're all together in this, because when one is affected, we all are affected."

"This is really a joint effort between the village, the school district, and all of the affected taxing jurisdiction," added Cuthbertson. "That's how we intend to approach this."

Surprise and Betrayal
When asked after the meeting by reporters whether he felt "sort of blindsided" by the grievance filed by LIPA, Petrone took it one step further.

"Blindsided, in capital letters," he said. "Extremely disappointed. Concerned."

The filing by LIPA, according to Petrone, goes against a handshake agreement between the town, former New York governor George Pataki, and former LIPA president Richard Kessel in 1998, when the Long Island Power Authority purchased the Long Island Lighting Company and inherited the power plant.

"The understanding was that this is not the usual business," said Petrone. "It's not the usual commercial or residential facility that gets assessed and taxed. This is the lifeline of Long Island. Much of [the Island's] power comes out of the plant. How do you put a value on that?"

Northport school board president Steve Waldenburg told the residents at the rally that LIPA betrayed that agreement when they filed the suit.

"I joined with the community when Pataki came to speak about the formation of LIPA, and how the payments, in lieu of taxes, that LIPA would make through the generating facility would be maintained," he said. "This action by LIPA and National Grid is a direct violation of that promise. They are illegal and are in violation of the contract that existed at the formation of LIPA that these tax filings would not be made."

One of Petrone's other concerns was that LIPA filed the grievance without even consulting the Town first.

"This was filed without even a discussion, without even a phone call," he said. "Some of the background and some of the past history we had could have been discussed. This could have been an equitable, professional experience to work together, not to go into a courtroom."

The Need for Public Support
Cuthbertson discussed the steps against LIPA already taken by members of the community. They organized a website and a Facebook group to spread awareness of the potential impact of the hike. and encouraged local residents to find these resources.

They are in the process of having red placards shaped like stop signs printed that read "Stop the LIPA Tax Hike," a sample of which Petrone showed at the rally, and they encouraged local residents to post these signs on their lawn.

"This has to be a grass-roots community effort," Cuthbertson said. "When LIPA and National Grid officials come to Northport, we want to see those signs on front lawns. Let them know that they're directly impacting the ratepayers, that they will directly be impacting the future of the children of the school district, of the people use the library district, the village of Northport, and all of the other tax jurisdictions."

State of the State...and the Town
The rally's date was not chosen at random. It coincided with new New York State governor Andrew Cuomo's State of the State address.

Cuthbertson said that Governor Cuomo needed to intervene "to avoid a financial crisis in Northport-East Northport and all of the communities in the Town of Huntington." The town specifically picked the date since the governor was expected to outline his his new plan to cap property taxes on Long Island in his address.

"He's serious," Petrone told reporters after the rally. "We know he is serious. We're talking the same thing here. You can't control property taxes if this assessment is changed. You risk a thriving community turning into a fiscal ghost town."

Petrone told the residents at the rally that the movement had the support of the New York State Legislature, who he discussed the suit with on Tuesday. He expects to meet with the delegation again next week in order to lay out a strategy for receiving aid from them.

"They are supportive of this effort," he said. "They will do whatever they can."

What's Next
It's unclear where the discussions between the Town and LIPA will go from here, if they will even exist in the near future. Petrone made it clear that the Town will not even begin discussions with LIPA until they withdraw the grievance.

"If they're serious about sitting down and talking, withdraw the suit," he said. "How do you discuss things when you have legal proceedings hanging over you? When everything you say is subject to a legal interpretation? When everything you say can be used against you?"

"We want to show how important this is to people," he added. "Bring LIPA to the table, but bring them to an equitable table, not one in a courtroom."

Until then, Petrone said he and the town need all of the support they can get, and that starts with mobilizing the Northport and the town community.

"People look to see numbers," added Petrone. "They look to hear voices. And that's exactly what we must promote now in order to move forward."