Opinions
The governments have used the tax windfall responsibly to reduce or stabilize taxes or invest in long-deferred projects. The towns of Harrisburg and Martinsburg, which are home to most of the turbines, have used part of their funds to lower tax rates and establish capital reserve accounts.
Harrisburg began, and Martinsburg is thinking about, a townwide trash pick-up service to further help residents financially. The towns have been able to expand road construction and improvement projects and to upgrade town machinery.
The millions of dollars in annual revenue are one reason wind farm supporters in Jefferson County and other parts of the north country are pushing similar projects as they, too, hope to reap such financial dividends.
However, the Maple Ridge Wind Farm fell within an Empire Zone, which allows businesses within the zone to be reimbursed for their property taxes and make the projects more affordable to developers. The reimbursement enabled the several local governments to receive tax benefits and payments higher than might be expected.
But wind farm supporters in Jefferson County will be disappointed if they expect to see similar benefits to their municipalities and school districts. The proposed projects are not in any Empire Zone now. Even the Maple Ridge project encountered some difficulty when new regulations prevented a portion of it from qualifying for zone benefits, which reduced the maximum payments the operator would make.
Regulatory changes governing Empire Zones will make it difficult if not impossible as a practical matter for wind farms to meet eligibility criteria, making it unlikely that such lucrative Empire Zone benefits will flow to other towns and governments looking at wind farm tax revenues for a financial boost.
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