Before elections: “Terry Bernardo will take good care of taxpayer dollars.”
This morning, in Freeman:
-
Two Ulster County businesses, including one co-owned
by Legislature leader Terry Bernardo, face tax ultimatum
KINGSTON, N.Y. — Two area business, including one owned by Ulster County Legislature Chairwoman Terry Bernardo and her husband, Len, have been given one week to agree to a voluntary reduction in payment-in-lieu-of-taxes benefits on property taxes.
Failing such agreement, they will be forced to pay the full tax bill levied against their properties.
Members of the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency voted Wednesday to give both the Bernardos’ business, Skate Time 209, as well as the Hudson Valley Sports Dome, until March 21 to enter a new deal.
David O’Halloran, chairman of the agency’s board of directors, said failure to agree to the reduction “will result in automatic termination” of the agreements.
The agency maintains the two businesses were given property tax breaks based, in part, on promises to create a certain number of full-time jobs. Both businesses have fallen short of those projections.
Terry Bernardo’ whine on Facebook, today:
- Now the UCIDA wants to to “amend” our original agreement, and if we don’t they are going to break the original agreement, which would force us to file an article 78 (sue) which would cost my husband and myself thousand of dollars.
Anything to smear us…….
If we pay a little bit of money it will go away, or pay a lot of money and stand on principle.
My advice to Terry: Stand on principle and pay a lot of money, then pay attention to this comment in Freeman:
- YES! It is about time! What about restitution? If it has been determined that they are in breach of contract, what about the money they should have been paying all along? Is that included in the “deal”?
– Jon Dogar-Marinesco
Rochester Smoke Out 
Funny…Bernardos can break the original contract, but then get all pissy when the IDA wants to break the original contract.
As owner of the best Pilates studio in both Americas and the best tourist destination skate rink East and West of Mississippi, surely Terry Bernardo could afford a few thousand dollars to sue the County, IDA and everybody else who stays in her way. You go girl!
Stand on principle??? Come again! They are ripping the County taxpayers off and breached the initial contract! Then she has the gall to claim that fighting this would be a stand on principle! Is she for real?
They have until March 21st to enter a new deal? What is this? Ulster County’s Deal or No Deal? They violated the terms of the contract so I don’t see where there is any deal to be made. They should pay back the monies from the years they already received tax breaks and in the future they should pay their full share of taxes just like everyone else does!
How ironic and appropriate that this article uses the word deal.
Lifelong mostly-dem stopping by to say: I hope you guys are cooking up someone to defeat TB before (like the disease her initials represent) she spreads geographically. I can assure you that there are plenty of local dems who see these two for the dirty (and literal) wheeler-dealers they are and want them gone. To date, “Rochester United” has just been some big letters in a field every other October, it’d be nice to have a widely respected and well-liked candidate (on the GOP and Dem lines?) who could make it really mean something this fall.