Dear Kingston City School District Board of Education,

We are reaching out in an effort to gain your support for the Kingstonian PILOT.

The project has received the unanimous support of the City of Kingston Common Council, the Mayor, and the City Assessor.  It also has been endorsed and supported by the Ulster County Legislature and the County Executive.

Unfortunately, the School Board has been prevented from receiving the full project presentation and there seems to continue to be many misconceptions.  The discussion somehow continues to be about the portion of NEW tax revenue you are not getting because of the PILOT and what is totally getting lost is the NEW TAX REVENUE you will get because of the Project.

The new PILOT was created in partnership between the County Executive and the IDA and was done to compensate the School District over the other taxing jurisdictions involved.  As such, the Kingstonian Project offers much needed revenue to support the District and all the important programs it currently offers without burdening the district with additional costs.

HERE ARE THE FACTS:

1)  The Kingstonian PILOT represents estimated Tax payments of $3,726,387 over the 25-year life of the PILOT and substantially more after.  Without the Kingstonian Project approval the estimated tax payments are $962,158.  The taxing jurisdictions will share $2,764,229 in NEW TAX REVENUE if the project is allowed to move forward.

2)  Due to the way the PILOT is structured, $1,971,977 of the projected Tax revenue of $3,726,387 will come to the taxing jurisdictions outside of their normal tax levy process and as such will truly represent additional discretionary revenue to support necessary projects and/or initiatives.

3)  Without the Kingstonian Project, the School District is projected to receive $580,669 in tax revenue from the involved properties over the next 25 years.

4)  If the Kingstonian Project PILOT is approved, the School District is projected to receive $2,406,258 in tax revenue from the involved properties over the next 25-years.  This represents $1,825,589 in NEW TAX REVENUE if the project is allowed to move forward.

If the School District votes the PILOT down they would potentially lose the additional income gained by the weighted tax increase split of 3%, 4% 5% proposed in the current PILOT reverting back to a 4%-4%-4% model for the City, County and School.  Additionally, they would be forgoing the potential for scholarships and internships.

Perhaps most importantly, what needs to be considered is the message the School Board would be sending the community, and the resulting pushback sure to follow, by walking away from additional tax revenue at a much-needed time.  The majority voices from our community have expressed their position and established their overwhelming support for this project through the unprecedented 500 letters and emails previously submitted urging approval.

Not voting to move this important initiative forward could put the project at risk, potentially costing the community the multitude of economic benefits that so many are depending on, something sure to cause reverberations going forward.

We urge you to join with the City of Kingston and Ulster County in support of this transformative project.

Sincerely,

The Kingstonian Development Team

DOWNLOAD THE LETTER (PDF)