§ 1012-A — Emergency contributions to county of Niagara and city of Niagara Falls

§ 1012-a. Emergency contributions to county of Niagara and city of\nNiagara Falls. 1. On June seventh, nineteen hundred fifty-six a collapse\nof the rock wall of the Niagara river resulted in the substantial\ndestruction of a hydro-electric power generating plant which annually\nproduced more than three billion kilowatt hours of low-cost electric\nenergy, most of which was used by industrial plants employing great\nnumbers of workers in the city of Niagara Falls and vicinity. These\nindustries would be forced to curtail their operations drastically or\nabandon them and thousands of jobs would be lost if the industries were\nnot able to obtain necessary power at high cost on a temporary basis\nfrom the hydro-electric power commission of Ontario. This commission is\nusing not only Ontario's share of the water of the Niagara river under\nthe treaty signed on February twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred fifty,\nbetween the United States and Canada, but also a large part of New\nYork's share of such water. To provide for the retention and expansion\nof existing industry and the attraction of new industry vital to the\neconomy of the area and to the defense of the United States, it is\nessential that power authority of the state of New York complete a power\nproject to utilize all of the waters of the Niagara available in the\nUnited States. The destruction caused by the rock slide resulted in\nreducing to the extent of some ten million dollars the total valuation\nof real property subject to taxation in the city of Niagara Falls. This\nwill result in a temporary tax loss to the county of Niagara and the\ncity of Niagara Falls of approximately seven hundred thousand dollars\nper year with resulting hardship to taxpayers. An increase in the tax\nbase sufficient to offset such loss cannot be brought about until\nindustrial activities in the area are expanded and increased through the\navailability of low-cost power from such new New York hydro-electric\npower project. An emergency justifying financial relief to the county of\nNiagara and city of Niagara Falls exists and will continue until such a\nproject is completed. It is recognized that public authorities\nconstitute valuable governmental entities in the state, performing\nimportant functions on a businesslike basis through the use of private\nfunds borrowed from prudent investors without state or municipal credit,\nand that the integrity and independence of these authorities must be\nmaintained and their present exemption from taxation protected.\n 2. Power authority of the state of New York is hereby authorized to\ninclude in financing the cost of its Niagara river project a total sum\nof (1) three million dollars in addition to that otherwise required and\nto contribute such additional total sum as emergency relief to the\ncounty of Niagara and city of Niagara Falls on the basis of decreasing\nannual allotments over a five-year construction and expansion period;\nsuch annual allotments shall be allocated for school and other purposes\nin the same proportion as other moneys collected as real property taxes\nin such city; and (2) the power authority of the state of New York is\nhereby authorized to expend the sum of one and one-half million dollars\nfor local improvements in the city of Niagara Falls incidental to or\nreasonably related to the Niagara power project of the authority.\n