Salem
Brannen
POUGHKEEPSIE – The two Poughkeepsie council members who sit on
the city’s Industrial Development Agency Board are questioning why
Council Chairwoman Ann Finney wants to remove common council members from
the board.
The IDA board is currently comprised of seven members.
Finney has a resolution on Monday night’s council agenda that would
take Council members Sarah Salem and Sarah Brannen off the IDA.
Salem said Finney’s proposal “presents itself as rather odd
following the recent decision of the board to grant a PILOT to a development
project that has been publicly before the IDA since March.”
Salem said if the question is if council members present a conflict of
interest by serving on the IDA, “then the interests of all other
council members who currently hold a position on a city board should also
be called to question.” Salem said as for the PILOT approved for
the development project, “that is a matter that is under legal determination.”
Brannan said Feeney’s resolution to remove two council members from
the IDA board “appears to be in retaliation for the approval of
a PILOT, which will bring in significant new tax revenues to the city
and turn a vacant lot into good quality, affordable housing for residents.”
Brannen said the resolution also doesn’t make sense “given
the past IDA board included four elected officials – the mayor,
a council member, and two school board members.”
Brannan said state IDA law “explicitly states that elected officials
can serve on the board. In fact, there have been elected officials on
the IDA board for upwards of two decades.”
