IDA: We Need Money, and We Need it Now
Short on cash, the Industrial Development Agency needs money from Putnam County, and according to IDA chairman Richard Ruchala, it needs it now.
After sending a letter to the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) informing the IDA would be seeking county money allotted to the EDC for the rest of this year, Ruchala made that request in front of legislators Wednesday night during an Economic Development Committee meeting.
Right now, the IDA only has $386 left to spend, according to Ruchala and if the IDA wants to continue to operate efficiently the rest of this year, it needs money urgently. Ruchala has been voicing the need for county funds since September 2014 and pointed out other organizations meant to boost economic development like the EDC and Putnam Tourism received county money.
The IDA is the agency that has the power to offer tax incentives to businesses looking to come to Putnam. It has struggled to make money the last several years because of new state laws enacted that make it difficult to raise funds through bonding.
The county executive administration determines if the money would be allotted to the IDA, according to legislative counsel Clement Van Ross. The county Legislature could send a letter to County Executive MaryEllen Odell voicing support for the IDA to receive funds, which it decided to do Wednesday night.
While legislators threw around giving the IDA between $10,000-15,000, Ruchala said the IDA needs at least $40,000 to take care of unfunded mandates passed down by New York State and other imperative work in order to keep the IDA functioning until the end of the year.
The IDA should also be included in the next year’s budget, in order to hire a CEO, other possible staff and promote itself more, Ruchala said.
“We need to be funded correctly so we can be the IDA that we should be,” Ruchala said.
During a somewhat tense exchange, Ruchala said the EDC “hasn’t done anything this year regarding anything” and that he has “been doing much of their work” along with the rest of the IDA board. By pulling the money assigned to the EDC and giving it to the IDA, the county budget would not be impacted for the rest of this fiscal year.
IDA board member and Putnam County Chambers of Commerce president Bill Nulk said the IDA “requires and deserves funding as an agency of the county.”
No one from the EDC was at the meeting, though the legislature didn’t invite anyone from the corporation whose board chairman Jeff Kellogg. The EDC has been without a president since Meghan Taylor left for a better job at the state level. Ruchala said a letter written from the EDC expressed it doesn’t believe it’s a good idea to send money targeted for their operations to the IDA because it needs money for the president it eventually plans on hiring. Ruchala claims that hire is imminent.
Included in the 2015 budget was a proposed $75,000 loan the county would give the IDA, but it was never completed because of certain clauses in the contract. Ruchala said his entire board was against the loan contract, and would have led to members resigning if it were accepted.
Legislator Roger Gross asserted the contract set up the IDA to fail and should be reconstructed in order for the IDA to get money. Ruchala noted he would take the loan, as long as the county didn’t expect it to be paid back.
Legislator Barbara Scuccimarra said she understood the IDA’s financial plight, but didn’t think the county could expend any funds to the IDA until next year when the new fiscal year starts. As budget season begins, Scuccimarra suggested putting the IDA’s request in the discussion, noting the county can’t just “willy-nilly, allocate funds right now.”
Legislator Dini LoBue said while the EDC gets county money without any requirements, the proposed loan the IDA was offered was with “strings attached,” noting it was “hypocritical.”
After Scuccimarra argued the county has never funded the IDA, LoBue said the EDC and IDA used to work in-sync and share services.
“And it didn’t work,” Scuccimarra said, with LoBue responding, “Explain to me how it didn’t work, elaborate, you made a statement, now back it up with facts because you know nothing as usual.”
“Whether you want to debate whether the EDC is relevant or not, the matter is you cannot attract economic development to the county without incentives,” LoBue said. “The only agency that offers incentives is the IDA.”
