Holtsville IRS Building is Hot Topic of Discussion at Suffolk County Legislature General Meeting

At Tuesday's Suffolk County Legislature general meeting in Riverhead, the discussion of whether or not Suffolk County should purchase the IRS building in Holtsville sparked considerable debate between Legislators.

Last week, it was reported that Suffolk County Steve Levy is eying the purchase of the building at 5,000 Corporate Ct. for $25 million to reduce rental costs. This would nix the Sachem Central School District out of $220,000 a year in tax money. 

"I'm not a big advocate of government in these tough economic times buying buildings," said Legislator Thomas Barraga (District 11). "This has a negative impact on the school district and what about the library district and the fire district? On the merit of this, there are serious questions and on the politics I think it's terrible."

While seldom remarks were said about the deal being positive for the county, many echoed Barraga's sentiments. 

"We are not landlords," said Legislator Ed Romaine (District 1). "It would be a change in policy for this county."

"Yes," added Deputy County Executive Chris Kent, "I know it's a policy shift and that's a tough decision. It's a tremendous opportunity."

In a separate statement from Levy's aides, Kent said, "The county does not pay direct property taxes on property it owns, and changing that policy would be a cost-prohibitive precedent. The county's role in the current real property framework is to make all taxing districts whole when real property taxes are not paid."

Levy's right-hand man also mentioned that the county would be paying roughly $19.5 million in capital improvement fees on the property in the first five years after the purchase is made.

Legislator DuWayne Gregory (District 15) said he was concerned about how this particular property came about in the selection.

"I think the process was skewed," he said. "I don't think it was a competitive process. I haven't been able to verify that some of the beneficiaries of this project are campaign contributors to the County Executive. That's something we're trying to find out."

In an email response about Gregory's claims, Levy aid Dan Aug said, "By way of background, the broker's commission is being paid by the seller/owner of the building – as is the case in virtually all real estate transactions, and as was disclosed at the very beginning of this process."

The Legislature voted 18-0 to table the resolution, meaning it will be up for discussion at the next general meeting in May.

"We're a government, not a business," said Legislator John Kennedy (District 12). "I think that this proposal needs in-depth scrutiny. The last thing I thought I'd ever be involved with was flipping properties."