In a joint announcement Montgomery, Medline and the Town of Montgomery announced the company is withdrawing its application for the proposed Montgomery IDA Pilot agreement. In addition, Medline will proceed with its proposed $110 million investment in the region to expand its current operations in New York State.
“This investment decision will provide the tax base of the Town of Montgomery a new stable commercial taxpayer with a track record of success,” said Town of Montgomery Supervisor Rod Winchell. “Both the Town of Montgomery and Valley Central School district will benefit greatly, and Medline’s current employees and future employees can be assured their jobs will stay local. Medline will be here continuing to fuel our economy and supply much needed products to local healthcare providers.”
Medline plans to move forward with the statutory incentives provided by New York State, known as the 485B method. This process is available to any business that expands its operations in the state.
“We’ve been a member of the local community for more than 15 years, and we are eager to continue to grow both our business and local jobs here,” said Dmitry Dukhan, vice president of Global Real Estate for Medline. “We are grateful for the local investment in Medline over the years. We want to move forward as partners, and we are hopeful our intention to significantly invest in the Town of Montgomery indicates our intention to remain a long-term community member and leader.”
“We sincerely appreciate the efforts of the local leaders, including Supervisor Winchell and the Orange County Partnership, for their dedicated, transparent communications on Montgomery’s needs and local considerations for success,” Dukhan continued. “We’re hopeful these open lines of communications with the Town of Montgomery, our neighbors and employees will continue in our new home once the project is complete.”
The decision to withdraw the IDA application was hailed by State Senator James Skoufis who, while sporting a “Pay Your Damn Taxes” T-shirt, had rallied against tax breaks for the company at a recent Town of Montgomery press conference.
“From the moment I announced my investigation into Medline’s application for corporate welfare, I made one thing clear to the company: they needed to pay their taxes. Today, taxpayers can declare victory as common sense prevailed and the corporation withdrew their $17 million property tax break application,” Skoufis said Monday in a prepared statement. “Throughout my investigation, Medline’s representatives, the Orange County Partnership, and others constantly warned that the corporation would walk away if they did not receive the proposed $17 million taxpayer-funded giveaway. It is now clear they were either misleading the public or simply refused to ask the hard questions themselves to make an accurate judgment.”
Skoufis called the decision a win for local residents and schools.
“I hope this victory will herald a culture change whereby taxpayers are better respected and every application for incentives is fully investigated before moving forward,” Skoufis said.