Latimer supports Indian Point tax stabilization fund proposal

Westchester County Executive George Latimer supports a budget proposal by state Sen. Terrence Murphy to create a $27 million tax stabilization fund for communities affected by the shutdown of Indian Point Energy Center.

Latimer, a Democrat, wrote in a memo of support last week that the fund “would ensure that the needs of our local communities are met.”

Indian Point owner and operator Entergy Corp., announced in January 2017 that the Buchanan plant’s two nuclear reactors would be taken out of service by 2021: the Unit 2 reactor by April 2020 and the Unit 3 reactor by April 2021.

The tax stabilization proposal from Murphy, R-Yorktown, is included in the Senate budget proposal. It would provide $27 million for Westchester County, the town of Cortlandt, the village of Buchanan and the Hendrick Hudson School District.

“It has been more than a year since Governor (Andrew) Cuomo announced the closure of Indian Point and nothing has been done to help the local taxpayers,” Murphy said in a press release. “The time is now. This isn”™t about politics but helping people stay in their homes. Albany caused this mess and it should pay for it.”

Latimer, in his memo, noted that under a payment in lieu of taxes agreement that will go into effect after Indian Point’s closing, property tax revenue collected by the county, Cortlandt, Buchanan and Hendrick Hudson School District will drop from $31 million annually to $3.1 million by 2024.

A stabilization fund “will allow for these local governments and school district to mitigate the adverse financial impacts of the Indian Point closure, and will ensure that they are still able to provide adequate services while avoiding significant property tax increases on local residents,” Latimer wrote.

The state budget is due April 1.