Saratoga County supervisors settle on assessment for GlobalFoundries

PHOTOGRAPHER: Stephen Williams

The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday signed off on a long-term assessment settlement for the GlobalFoundries computer chip plant in Malta.

The county became the last taxing jurisdiction to approve the deal negotiated over the winter, under which the contentious issue of the massive factory’s assessment will be settled through 2059.

The towns of Malta and Stillwater have already approved the deal, as have the Ballston Spa and Stillwater school districts, all of which receive tax revenue from the plant.

GlobalFoundries is currently starting production at the Fab 8 plant and is at its top value, according to the settlement’s terms.

The Stillwater Town Board still must vote on a zoning amendment May 4 but has approved the settlement in principle, said Town Supervisor Edward Kinowski after the vote in Ballston Spa.

“If I look at it right now for squaring our taxes, it’s a great fix for Stillwater,” he said.

GlobalFoundries Fab 8 is located in the town of Malta and in the Ballston Spa school district, but its tax revenue is shared with Stillwater. The GlobalFoundries property, like the rest of the Luther Forest Technology Campus, is partially located in Stillwater.

The settlement will resolve legal disputes over the plant’s assessment for each of the past two years and set the assessment for each year through 2059.

Under the settlement, the chip plant’s assessment for 2012-13 will be $635 million, making it by far the largest taxpayer in the county. The county would receive $1.47 million in tax revenue from GlobalFoundries next year based on that assessment, said County Treasurer Samuel J. Pitcheralle. If taxes rates don’t change over the next 47 years, the county would receive $24.6 million from GlobalFoundries over the life of the deal, he said.

Under the settlement negotiated by attorneys for GlobalFoundries and the municipalities, the assessment declines after 2013. GlobalFoundries’ lawyers argued that factories depreciate in value over time.

It would decline each year from 2013 until 2027, when it would be $125 million. The assessment would then remain at $125 million through 2059.

The parties have also agreed on a formula for the assessment of future buildings, if GlobalFoundries were to build a second chip plant or additional office buildings.

The final piece of the settlement approvals will come with a vote by the county Industrial Development Agency, which administers the tax-sharing agreement, on May 14.