POUGHKEEPSIE – City of Poughkeepsie Common Council Chairwoman Ann Finney is introducing legislation on Monday to effectively remove fellow council members Sarah Brannen and Sarah Salem from the city’s Industrial Development Agency (CIPDA) and further prevent future council members from serving on the IDA board.
The newly elected common council, including freshmen lawmakers Finney, Brannen and Salem, took office in January of this year. Shortly after assuming their positions, the council passed a resolution changing the number of members on the IDA from five to seven and added Brannen and Salem to the board. Salem currently serves as treasurer for the CPIDA and Brannen serves as its secretary.
The CPIDA board has recently come under scrutiny for the way they awarded a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) to a developer working on a project in Poughkeepsie. While the PILOT passed by a 4-3 vote, the city was not given timely notice and the CPIDA failed to advise other taxing jurisdictions, namely the Poughkeepsie City School District and Dutchess County, that the plan had been approved in recent weeks. The validity of the awarded PILOT is still in question.
According to the new resolution offered by Finney, “the common council is desirous of reducing the CPIDA board to five members by eliminating the seats held by members who also serve on the common council.”
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