Town moves up public forum on LIPA tax deal on Northport plant 

The Huntington Town Board has moved up the date of a forum to discuss a proposed settlement by LIPA to lower its taxes on the Northport power plant.

The second public forum on the tax assessment deal will be Sept. 3 — instead of Sept. 16 — to coincide with a new deadline for the town to accept the agreement. The first forum was held Monday, a day before LIPA’s original deadline for the town to accept the settlement.

Town board member Joan Cergol, who sponsored the date change resolution with Mark Cuthbertson, said she and other members of the board have been receiving hundreds of emails daily from residents who were encouraging them to accept the offer out of fear the opportunity would be lost and the case would be decided by the courts.

“So I asked counsel to go back to LIPA and say, ‘listen we need more time; especially now we’re in the midst of a tropical storm clean up. People have been out of power. First, it was the pandemic,” she said.

The proposed deal would lower LIPA’s taxes for the National Grid-owned plant from a current $86 million to $46 million over seven years, leaving local taxpayers to make up the difference. The deal also would give the Northport-East Northport school district $14.5 million in direct payments from LIPA over the seven years. The district has proposed cost cuts to reduce the impact on its taxpayers, who would see their annual taxes increase on a $500,000 home by $2,880 by the seventh year of the deal. 

LIPA chief executive Tom Falcone last month indicated that LIPA could move to push the case back to the courts, where the town and the district face $850 million in refund payments to LIPA and drastically reduced taxes for the plant if a judge finds in LIPA's favor. 

A verdict in LIPA's favor could cost all town taxpayers between $10,000 and $25,000 each, LIPA and the school district have said. 

LIPA in a statement confirmed the extension until Sept. 3.

“The vote by the Huntington Town Board to provide for the second public forum and a vote on the Northport Power Station settlement agreement on September 3 is a good faith effort to hear from the community and consider the merits of the proposal,” the statement said.

Cergol said the board will vote that same day on whether to accept the proposal.

The board voted on the date change at Wednesday's town board meeting. It was approved 4-1 with Gene Cook voting against it.

With Mark Harrington