July 6, 2008
Tax load shared unfairly, critics say
Residents want slew of exempt entities to pay for services they use
By Jenny Lee
Poughkeepsie Journal
Nearly half the calls the Fairview Fire District responded to last year were to properties that paid no taxes to the fire district. Five of the top six places that had the most calls in 2007 were tax-exempt properties, according to fire district records.
About 45 percent of the 1,817 responses Fairview crews made in 2007 were to tax-exempt properties.
As of June 2008, about half of the 845 cases that occurred this year have been at tax-exempt properties, fire Chief Tory Gallante said. The other 50 percent represents calls for residential and commercial properties and roads.
Fire districts are independent entities run by elected fire commissioners who set budgets and can raise taxes to meet the needs of the towns and villages in the district. Fairview covers parts of the towns of Poughkeepsie and Hyde Park.
Many home and business owners in the fire district are angry they are paying for emergency services for colleges, hospitals and other groups that geographically dominate the district, but contribute nothing in property taxes. Residents have argued the 4.5 square mile district is about 80 percent tax-exempt. Fairview officials said they're calculating the exact percentage for 2007.
However, the tax-exempt groups counter they provide valuable services to the community that might be curtailed if they were required to pay property taxes. Some make annual payments to the district in place of property taxes. They also are working to reduce the number of false alarms through new technology and procedures.
Years of resentment over disparities in taxes and services used have boiled over in recent months with the announcement of plans to build a dorm to house 450 students at Dutchess Community College. Fire officials and taxpayers are concerned the dorm would increase the volume of calls, especially with false alarms.
Even without the dorm, schools, medical facilities and a homeless shelter were among the six places the Fairview Fire District responded to the most in 2007.
Out of 1,817 responses in 2007, Marist College had the most emergency responses with 246, Saint Francis Hospital had 214 responses, Hudson River Psychiatric Center had 89 and Hillcrest House & Homeless Shelter had 82. The Atrium at Saint Francis Hospital had 79 responses, and it is the only taxable property that ranks among the top six. Dutchess Community College had 50, Gallante said.
The calls were for a mix of false fire alarms, emergency medical calls and other incidents, according to representatives of the five organizations.
Pay their share
"My fire taxes are out of this world," said George Cacchione, of the Town of Poughkeepsie. A retiree, Cacchione said he will pay more than $1,000 in fire taxes this year.
"I think the nonprofits should pay their fair share," he said. Cacchione is a member of Fairness for Fairview, a group of residents who are angry about their taxes.
Residents and fire officials have been looking for solutions that could offer taxpayers some relief.
Fairness for Fairview, a group of concerned residents, is in favor of Payment In Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, agreements, in which nonprofits pay the district a certain amount for services.
Fairview Board of Fire Commissioners Chairman John E. Anspach said he wants a moratorium on construction on tax-free properties in the district.
"I want it so we can negotiate a PILOT, Payment in Lieu of Taxes," Anspach said. "They require service, police service. They should pay for police and fire service."
Another possibility is consolidating with another fire district, he said. Hyde Park and Poughkeepsie fire departments are nearby.
"It takes a long time to put this stuff together," Anspach said. "The only thing I can offer my sister district is higher taxes and more calls."
Although Marist and DCC make financial contributions to the fire district, residential and commercial property owners pay a majority of the fire taxes.
The proposed DCC dorm would be built on county property off Cottage and Creek roads in the Town of Poughkeepsie. In a close vote, the county Legislature agreed in March to support the development of a lease. The lease will come back to the Legislature for another vote, but Chairman Roger Higgins, D-New Hamburg, said he was not sure when that would happen.
DCC spokeswoman Ann Winfield declined to comment on DCC's rank in the number of Fairview responses.
If the dorm is built, the Dutchess Community College Association has agreed to contribute $75,000 next year to the fire district. The amount will increase 3 percent each year until 2012. Previously, the association gave $5,000 each year for several years, Gallante said.
The $75,000 would be a fraction of the multimillion dollar budget for the district.
Budget runs into millions
The district's 2007 budget was about $2.7 million, and its property-tax levy was about $2.5 million, Fairview Treasurer James Passikoff said.
Since the district covers two towns, there are two fire tax rates, Passikoff said. The 2007 fire tax rate in the Town of Poughkeepsie was $10.49 per $1,000 of assessed value and in Hyde Park it was $9.70.
The 2008 budget is $3.2 million, and the tax levy is $3 million. The 2008 fire tax rate in the Town of Poughkeepsie is $4.83 per $1,000 of assessed value and the tax rate is $13.26 in Hyde Park, Passikoff said.
The fair market value of the 24-acre county property where the dorms are proposed is $445,000, according to the Dutchess County Real Property Tax Agency. If the property were taxable in the Town of Poughkeepsie, about $2,149.35 in fire taxes would go to the district.
Marist spokesman Tim Massie sympathizes with the residents.
"I'm going to be honest," Massie said. "We agree with the folks in Fairview that their taxes are too high."
However, he said, "It's an issue that's bigger than Marist."
Hudson River Housing Executive Director Gail Webster, whose organization oversees Hillcrest House, also was sympathetic to Fairview residents. But, she said, it's difficult to get funding for her organization, which operates homeless shelters and provides transitional housing.
"I've talked for a long time of trying to pay for PILOTS at Fairview," Webster said. "I have the utmost respect for them."
Proposal is opposed
Saint Francis Hospital Chief Executive Officer Robert Savage also is aware of the controversy, and said he opposes PILOTS.
"I think everybody needs to keep in mind why Saint Francis Hospital does not pay taxes and what we provide for the community in exchange for the tax-exempt status," Savage said. "Our doors are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for anyone who needs care, whether they can pay or not. That's worth something."
Kurt Hornick, co-coordinator of Fairness for Fairview, views PILOTs as a fee that should be paid for a necessary service.
"Every month I have to assume Marist gets an electric bill from Central Hudson [Gas & Electric Corp.] and Marist has to pay for their electric service every month the same way you and I do. Well, this service is no different," Hornick said.
Marist and the district have an agreement under which the school will contribute $120,000 to the district for the 2008-09 school year, Gallante said. Marist contributed about $110,000 to the district for the 2007-08 school year.
Both sides will renegotiate the agreement in 2009, Massie said.
Curbing false alarms
The tax-exempt groups also are working to reduce the number of false alarms.
About 146 out of the 246 calls from Marist, or 59 percent, in 2007 were for auto accidents, medical emergencies and other incidents at graduation and concerts, Massie said. The rest of the calls were false alarms: burning food, malfunctions and maintenance issues, he said.
"We're doing what we can to reduce the number further," Massie said. For example, the school installed better fire alarms, he said.
Hillcrest, Saint Francis and Hudson River Psychiatric Center also upgraded their fire alarm systems, according to Webster, Savage and psychiatric center research director Dr. Roger Christenfeld.
About 178, or about 83 percent, of the 214 Fairview res-ponses to the hospital were for firefighters to control traffic when a medical helicopter makes a landing, Savage said.
Hospital officials have talked with Fairview a number of times in the past few years, Savage said.
"We suggested four years ago it wasn't necessary," he said.
Gallante said he was supposed to discuss it further with hospital officials.
The helicopter lands on a designated area near the emergency room, Gallante said. Firefighters and hospital security block roads going into the hospital to give the helicopter some space, to prevent drivers and pedestrians from gawking and to make it easier for medical staff to wheel patients into the hospital.
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