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Excerpts of Statements Made by Corporation Counsel Michael Cardozo

and Budget Director Mark Page Before the City Council Finance

Committee in Spring, 2005, Regarding Payments in-lieu-of Taxes (PILOTs)

Michael Cardozo, Corporation Counsel (4/25/05):

          2                 The sponsors' apparent basis for

          3  Intro. 584 is the argument that no revenue of the

          4  City may be expended without appropriation.

          5                 This is generally true to the extent

          6  that such monies are "revenues of the City," paid

          7  into the general fund.

          8                 However, as I have explained,

          9  contractual rights to receive PILOTs in the future,

         10  directed by the Mayor pursuant to economic

         11  development agreements, are not "revenues of the

         12  city." They are instead contract rights that can be

         13  transferred or otherwise disposed of by the Mayor……

         20                 The right to receive PILOT payments

         21  are contract rights, not revenue, and they are

         22  therefore not subject to payment into the general

         23  fund and subsequent appropriation.

Mark Page, Director of the OMB (3/22/05):

          5             However, the concept that this money

          6  is the equivalent of tax money in terms of the

          7  treatment of the revenue and the role of the Council

          8  is something that I am advised is not true, at least

          9  in the way contemplated by this local legislation,

         10  and that's I guess not a great surprise to me in

         11  terms of how money paid under these contracts has

12        been used in the past.