The Syracuse Common Council voted 5-4 in favor of a 30-year payment in lieu of taxes agreement, or PILOT, for a new Syracuse University bookstore Monday at City Hall.

The decision was made during a special meeting, thus it required only five supporting votes to pass the motion. During a regular meeting, six supporting votes are required.

The PILOT was first brought to the council in March after the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency approved it, but it was not passed. The motion was surrounded by controversy because the new bookstore would be built by a private development company, Cameron Group LCC, rather than the tax-exempt SU.

The motion was brought to the table by Councilor Khalid Bey, who led the council’s discussion before it voted on the agreement.

During the discussion, Bey said the agreement was “not a case where taxable commercial property becomes nontaxable.” He explained how the property, due to its location on SU’s campus, was nontaxable without this agreement, and finding a way to access it seemed to him “intelligent and smart.”

But four councilors, including Patrick Hogan, were not swayed by the arguments put forth by

Bey and the councilors in favor of the PILOT. Hogan voted against the PILOT, and he was upset by the outcome of the special meeting.

“PILOTs are supposed to be for the stressed areas, or brand-new buildings in areas that need some sort of financial help. This doesn’t meet that criteria at all,” Hogan said. “It’s ridiculous. It’s a blatant giveaway for special interests in this town.”

Hogan said he feels the PILOT does not coincide with criteria adopted for considering PILOT requests. Because the PILOT was awarded to an area on the SU campus, which Hogan considers to be the most commercially viable area of the city, he felt this project was not a proper candidate for a PILOT.

Additionally, Hogan introduced concerns regarding the relationships between SIDA and Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner and SIDA and Cameron Group LLC. Miner shares a chief of staff with SIDA, while SIDA and Cameron Group LLC share attorneys.

Hogan described the relationships as “incestuous.”

Councilor Lance Denno said he was also disappointed with the decision, as he believes the project will be detrimental to Syracuse taxpayers.

“They’re in business to make money, and they’re going to make a whole lot of it,” Denno said. “Instead of negotiating a better deal with the university, they come and hold up the city taxpayer. It’s highway robbery.”

Denno compared the PILOT granted to the bookstore to the PILOT granted to Destiny USA, a mall expansion project. The decision was very controversial. It was recently announced that additional phases of the Destiny USA project would not be completed.

During the meeting, Denno focused on the similarities between the two projects, He said he believed the bookstore project would pose a larger threat to the city because it would bring in less revenue fees than Destiny USA. Denno also said he felt granting public access was much less feasible with the new bookstore.

“This is being financed in large part by the taxpayer here, and there’s a private company making money on it, and there’s still very limited public access to it,” Denno said. “It’s outrageous.”

Councilor Kathleen Joy, who voted in favor of the PILOT, said she did not think the comparison between the two PILOTs held any credence. She said the new bookstore was the “complete opposite” of Destiny USA. She said Destiny USA was a PILOT on otherwise taxable property whereas the new bookstore would gain revenue from a tax-exempt property.

Joy said she felt the new bookstore would have a positive effect on the Syracuse community, as it will provide 10 jobs, opportunities for youth programs and new revenue.

Councilors Kathleen Joy, Helen Hudson, Jake Barrett, Boub Dougherty and Khalid Bey voted in favor of the motion. Councilors Jean Kessner, Lance Denno, Patrick Hogan and Nader Maroun voted against the motion.

Published on July 9, 2012 at 6:07 pm

Contact Chelsea: cedebais@syr.edu | @CDeBaise124