Local munies approved new tax incentive deal for Chase in 2011

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 June 2013 at 12:00 am

PILOT lasted until 2021, adding 10% more in taxes each year

ALBION – Tax incentives for keeping JP Morgan Chase in Albion were far from expiring.

The County of Orleans Economic Development Agency worked with local municipalities to offer a 10-year tax incentive deal to Chase that started in 2011.

That first year Chase didn’t have to pay any taxes to the local governments. With each following year, the company would pay 10 percent more of a $4,046,000 assessment until the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) expired in 2021. At that point,  the company would be paying the full 100 percent of its taxes.

The PILOT was approved as an incentive for Chase to stay in Albion at 231 East Ave. Now that the company has announced it will be closing the Albion site, the PILOT agreement may be voided, and Chase could be billed for the full assessed value, said Jim Whipple, chief executive officer of the Orleans EDA.

The EDA board will discuss the issue. Whipple said he favors canceling the PILOT and having the property fully taxed.

That would be a significant tax boost for the village of Albion, town of Albion, Orleans County and Albion Central School. With a combined tax rate of about $45 per $1,000 of assessed property, Chase’s local property tax bill would be about $180,000. The company paid a tenth of that in 2012 and 20 percent in 2013. The PILOT schedule calls for Chase to pay 30 percent in 2014, with 10 percent more added each successive year.

Chase also hasn’t paid towards the large parking lot by the site. The village created that lot in the mid-1990s when Dime Bank expanded at the site. Dime was later acquired by Washington Mutual, which was bought by Chase in 2008. The village has plowed and maintained the parking lot ever since the Dime days.