Orange County Partnership wins battle with state over its status

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GOSHEN – The Orange County Partnership has always maintained it is a private business development not-for-profit company, but the State Authority Budget Office (ABO) asserted it is a governmental public authority. The state agency subsequently demanded that the Partnership provide it with reports and documents.

The Partnership took the state to ABO to State Supreme Court maintaining it is, in fact, a private company.

Supreme Court Justice Robert Onofry ruled on Wednesday that the Partnership is a private not-for-profit company that focuses pursuing economic development in the county.

That has been the belief of Partnership President Maureen Halahan all along.

Maureen Halahan

“Even though there were a lot of complications with the state trying to overreach and require all kinds of reporting and regulatory reviews, we are a very strong but simple model,” she said. “The business community supports us. We market our resources and our properties to the masses. We attract new businesses and help them through the approval process, and when they open their doors, it creates jobs for all of the residents of Orange County and the Hudson Valley.”

Partnership Board Chairman Robert Kaehler said the ABO attempted to overregulate private economic development companies. “The process has only made the Partnership a stronger organization with the monumental support of our investors.”




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