Published: May 19, 2009 12:02 am      

SOMERSET: Town board, Barker school board put heads together on AES

SOMERSET — The town board and Barker School board are getting together for a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Because litigation will become a topic, the boards will go into executive session, and the meeting will be closed to the public.

The meeting comes in wake of the state Appellate Court decision that wiped out the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement given to the AES power plant by the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency. The payment-in-lieu-of-taxes deal cost the town $383,000 in 2008 and $424,000 in 2009, according to town records.

The PILOT took another $1.6 million from the Barker School district, according to district records. Barker’s School budget of $19,863,640 in 2008-09 called for a 6 percent tax levy increase.

It was the school district that asked for the joint meeting to talk about the challenges the district faces, according Deputy Supervisor Dan Engert. Although it is not intended to be a high-level strategy session, the impact of the AES decision is expected to segue into the discussion.

“It’s important to have discussions on strategy,” Engert said. “This hundred-dollar situation has been going on for a number of years. We want to get it right.”

Somerset’s assessors notified AES last week that the coal-burning plant was back on the tax rolls, according to Supervisor Richard Meyers. AES was assessed at $666,666,667.

The IDA is appealing the court’s District 4 unanimous decision on procedural grounds, and the town’s new law firm is arming itself with information of past litigation. After some delay, the Lockport firm of Andrews, Pusateri, Brandt, Roberson and Brandt has turned over the case files to the Buffalo firm of Chelus, Herdzik, Speyer and Monte PC.

It wasn’t until last week the Lockport firm, which has served as the Somerset legal team for more than 40 years, signed substitution of counsel.

With that complication out of the way, lawyers Art Herdzik and John Philipps have the green light to represent the town in litigation. However, Andrews et. al. will still represent council members April Gow, Dudley Chaffee and former council member Richard N. Ray. They and Councilman Randall Wayner are personally named in the appeal in their individual capacity.

“I don’t know why they did that. I have no idea of how that helps the town at all,” said Wayner, who has chosen to go with the new firm.

Being part of the suit was not for personal gain, Wayner said. The council members did not pay the Roberson firm. ”When it was explained to me, several of us were named in an individual capacity to add emphasis to the town’s legal action,” Wayner said.

AES is scheduled to pay the town $1,673,085 in 2009. That’s down about $424,000. In 2008, AES was taxed $1,721,002. That’s down about $383,000.

“We’re out $807,000 with the PILOT null and void,” said Town Clerk Rebecca Connolly.

Those drops do not include school or the county taxes.

“I hope the IDA is not counter-productive with settling the suit,” Meyers said. “I think our first option should be negotiation. We’re looking to moving forward and we knew we were going to get resistance.”

The AES plant employs 145 people and has a payroll of $16.5 million.