POUGHKEEPSIE – The City of Poughkeepsie Industrial Development Board did not properly evaluate and approve projects and monitor the performance of businesses that received financial benefits, according to a just-completed audit by the State Comptroller’s Office. The audit covered the period of January 1, 2018, through April 29, 2020. The full report, including a response from the Poughkeepsie IDA can be found by clicking here.
The audit said the board did not have a process to adequately oversee and monitor IDA projects. As a result, projects were missing applications, cost-benefit analyses, project agreements and uniform tax exemption policies.
It also said the board cannot verify two projects’ self-reported and calculated revenues upon which their payments in lieu of taxes are based on.
Those projects have 99-year PILOT agreements.
The IDA officials also did not ensure that projects were assessed late payment penalties totaling $30,664, the audit found.
Its key recommendations include developing written procedures to periodically monitor projects’ progress and document findings in writing; requiring the city or one of the taxing jurisdictions to request the project owners’ financial information to ensure the city is receiving the proper PILOT amounts.’ And ensuring city officials provide the board with periodic PILOT payment reports and assess penalties for late payments.
IDA officials generally agreed with our findings and indicated they plan to initiate corrective action.
