Huron Campus Tax Settlement

8/14/2012 (Updated 11:09:07 PM)

The Mayor of Endicott says that the Town of Union went behind its back and cut a deal by giving a tax break to the owners of the former IBM campus.

The settlement would lower Huron Real Estate's tax bill from $2.4 million to $600,000 dollars, slashing the village's property tax base by 24 percent, and causing residents to have to pick up the tab.

Mayor John Bertoni says he is already starting to work on adjusting next year's budget.

Despite the change, he says Endicott officials will not seek to dissolve the village.

"We're not going to panic, and you don't have to panic.  If you look at the silver lining, maybe it's time for some adjustments in certain places," said John Bertoni, the Endicott Mayor. 

"It's going to be hurtful and it shouldn't have been.  But there's still time to save this.  With my plan, the way that I looked at it, you can down-size. You could've offered more incentives for retirement," said Beverly Townsend, who is running for 2012 Village Trustee.

At a late afternoon press conference, the Town of Union board blasted Endicott Mayor John Bertoni, and strongly suggested that he is unfairly shifting the blame to them.