Projects supported by New York’s Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs) produced nearly 36,000 additional jobs in 2014, an increase of 18 percent from the prior year, according to a report issued today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. This is DiNapoli's ninth annual report examining the performance of the state's IDAs and how these entities work to attract, retain and expand businesses within their communities.

“IDAs are an important catalyst for economic development in our state,” said DiNapoli. “But as the value of tax exemptions to private businesses continues to increase, taxpayers must be reassured that their community is receiving promised benefits. Thankfully, my legislative proposal to increase transparency and scrutiny of IDAs was signed into law last year and will result in better evaluation of the economic impact they are having in New York.”

In 2015, DiNapoli successfully spearheaded legislation (S.5867/A.7915) to improve the process by which IDAs approve new projects, the quality of the information they gather about the projects, and policies for recapturing financial assistance if project goals are not met. The new law, developed with support from the New York Economic Development Council, becomes effective on June 15.

DiNapoli’s report shows the state’s 109 active IDAs provided $1.1 billion in total tax exemptions in 2014. These exemptions were partially offset by $483 million in payments-in-lieu of taxes, leaving the total net exemptions for the year at $632 million – a decrease of $28.5 million, or 4.3 percent, from 2013.

In 2014, IDA projects reported a total of 645,010 full-time jobs, which reflects an increase of 235,888 jobs over the life of these projects, at a median cost of $1,882 per job gained. In 2013, cumulative job gains equaled 199,943 with the median cost per job gained of $2,095.

The five IDAs with the largest job gains in 2014 were: New York City (48,859 jobs); Suffolk County (13,817); Monroe County (12,038); Oneida County (10,476); and the town of Amherst in Erie County (10,227).

Other findings include:

• The 4,581 projects supported by IDAs in 2014 were valued at $83.7 billion, an increase of 9 percent over 2013;
• The most common purpose of IDA-sponsored projects in 2014 was manufacturing (27 percent);
• The highest number of IDA-sponsored projects in 2014 were in Western New York (804);
• Regional data shows IDAs in the Mid-Hudson Valley ($136.7 million), Long Island ($131.5 million), the Capital District ($92.3 million) and New York City ($75.7 million) granted the highest amount of tax exemptions; and
• Total expenses for IDAs in 2014 equaled $102.6 million, an average of $950,000 per agency. 

For a copy of the Annual Performance Report on New York State's Industrial Development Agencies, visit: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/research/ida_reports/2016/idaperformance.pdf

For comprehensive data showing project, financial and debt data for IDAs, visit: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/datanstat/findata/index_choice.htm

For access to state and local government spending and more than 50,000 state contracts, visit http://www.openbooknewyork.com/. The easy-to-use website was created by DiNapoli to promote openness in government and provide taxpayers with better access to the financial workings of government.