May 25, 2007 – Schenectady County officials today announced that the Towns in Schenectady County received record disbursements in 2006 from the portion of the sales tax each municipality receives from Metroplex.
Susan E. Savage, Chair of the Schenectady County Legislature said, “As more and more economic development projects come on line in our County, we see increased sales tax payments, increased jobs and more commercial tax base.”
Metroplex receives ½ of one percent of the County sales tax. 30% of this amount is reserved for the Towns and sent directly to them by the County Finance office. The remaining 70% stays with Metroplex and is used to help finance economic development projects that in turn create additional sales and property tax.
In 2006, the Towns in Schenectady County received record disbursements from the sales tax collected by Metroplex. All of the Towns received more than in any previous year since the sales tax for Metroplex was instituted in 1999.
The results for 2006 are as follows along with total funding received since 1999:
Rotterdam — $1,032,303 in 2006 up from $1,013,840 in 2005. $7.791 million received since 1999.
Princetown — $77,840 up from $76,448 in 2005. $579,856 received since 1999.
Niskayuna — $739,786 up from $726,555 in 2005. $5.5 million received since 1999.
Village of Scotia — $290,045 up from $284,858 in 2005. $2.15 million received since 1999.
Glenville — $737,315 up from $724,128 in 2005. $5.64 million received since 1999.
Delanson — $13,900 up from $13,651 in 2005. $103,427 received since 1999.
Duanesburg — $197,688 up from $194,152. $1.47 million received since 1999.
Total — $3,088,877 in 2006. $23.23 million received by Towns since 1999.
In addition to this funding, Towns are benefiting directly from Metroplex’s role as part of the County’s unified economic development program. This effort has helped Schenectady County for the first time develop a network of smart growth business parks and shovel ready sites in Rotterdam, Glenville and Niskayuna. Projects like Railex in Rotterdam bring new jobs and property tax revenue to the Towns, local school districts and the County. In addition, the Towns benefit from the fact that the City has made available Empire Zone benefits to projects in the Towns helping the entire County win more projects, jobs and tax base.
“One of the major myths about our economic development effort is that it is strictly focused on downtown. The reality is that the Towns get direct funding from Metroplex and they are benefiting from a unified economic development effort which is coordinated by the County,” said Ray Gillen Metroplex Chair and County Commissioner of Economic Development and Planning.
Since the County’s new unified economic development program was put in place three years ago, the Towns have benefited from $117 million in new projects including:
Rotterdam — $52.5 million
Glenville — $22.2 million
Niskayuna — $42 million
Princetown –$1 million
A complete list of Town projects can be found at www.schenectadymetroplex.org