Cayuga County has two Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs), the Cayuga County Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA) that operates throughout the County and the Auburn Industrial Development Authority (AIDA) that operates within the City of Auburn. An IDA is a public entity authorized by the State of New York to provide certain types of incentives and benefits to companies that are investing and creating jobs in New York. The actions of our IDAs are very important to economic development and greatly impact our community.
The Cayuga Economic Development Agency (CEDA) has contracts in place to provide administrative services to CCIDA and AIDA. As such, CEDA manages the day-to-day activities of the IDAs, including marketing and communications, helping with the provision of services to businesses applying for or receiving IDA benefits, and annual auditing and reporting. Both IDAs can provide the following incentives to eligible expansion, relocation, and startup projects:
- sales and use tax exemption during project construction/renovation
- exemption of 75% of the mortgage recording tax on project financing
- property tax abatements, aka Payment in Lieu of Tax agreements (PILOTs)
- tax exempt bonds
These benefits are intended to help business projects that would create jobs and economic benefits by generating some savings during the construction and ramp-up of their startup or expansion. Companies undergoing a business development project can utilize these benefits to make a project financially viable. One way to do this is through a PILOT, or Payment in Lieu of Tax, agreement. Under this contract, the company agrees to make property tax payments over a set period of time based on an agreed upon schedule or formula, as opposed to the regular tax amount. Ideally, the PILOT is negotiated to help build the business up to their new full tax liability over time, rather than being hit with a large tax increase shortly after investing hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in their property and business. PILOTs help facilitate business growth in the County, leading over time to a larger tax base and job creation.
IDAs are also able to buy, own, and sell land. AIDA currently has parcels in the Auburn Technology Park, while CCIDA has land in the Aurelius Industrial Park across from the Fingerlakes Mall. This land is available for business development purposes.
Business retention, expansion, and attraction would be very difficult without the important work of our IDAs. If you have questions about our local IDAs or the PILOT program, please do not hesitate to contact CEDA at (315) 252-3500.
