Metroplex reports on time, complete

I’m responding to Mr. Elmer Bertsch’s Feb. 10 letter to the Daily Gazette concerning The Daily Gazette’s coverage of the fact that some economic development agencies in New York state were cited for late or missing reports. Instead of acknowledging the fact that all Schenectady County agencies complied with the reporting requirements and that Schenectady County agencies have never been cited for late or missing reports, Mr. Bertsch writes that Metroplex missed a local reporting deadline in March 2017. This isn’t true.

The Capital Projects report that Mr. Bertsch refers to was reviewed by the Metroplex Governance Committee last Feb. 7. A legal notice ran in The Daily Gazette as required and a public hearing was held on Feb. 28, 2017. The report was adopted by the Metroplex Board on March 8, 2017. It was then presented to the Schenectady County Legislature as required. Mr. Bertsch also referenced a report issued each year on Payment in Lieu of Tax (PILOT) agreements. This isn’t a required report, but is issued each January by Metroplex. It lists all economic development projects throughout Schenectady County that we have been involved with and the total amount of local property taxes paid. Fifty-four of the 61 projects paid $0 or nominal taxes prior to the economic development project taking place, so we are proud of the fact that these properties now produce almost $16 million in revenue for local governments and school districts in Schenectady County.

Jayme B. Lahut
Schenectady
The writer is executive director of the Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority.