A 35 year old tax break for the Clarion Hotel in Dunkirk is going to continue, at least for the immediate future.

During the Chautauqua County Legislature’s meeting Wednesday, lawmakers unanimously approved a corrected tax roll from the City of Dunkirk Industrial Development Agency for a correction of a tax liability on the parcel in the amount of $29,979.

Last month, during committee meetings, it was announced that a county property tax was levied on the parcel where the Clarion Hotel sits for the 2021 fiscal year in the amount of $29,973, however the parcel is subject to a Payment In Lieu Of Tax agreement.

Todd Button, first deputy budget director, said the Clarion Hotel received a PILOT from Dunkirk back in 1985, which has continued to be renewed on a regular basis. The agreement permits payments to the city of Dunkirk, but not to Chautauqua County.

Button discovered the PILOT agreement after an error. “The assessor removed the PILOT exemption from the property in error which generated the 2021 tax bill,” he said during a committee meeting in February.

The PILOT agreement expired in June 2020, explained Button, and would have been renewed except COVID caused a delay.

After Button shared the information, the Administrative Services Committee approved the resolution, while the Audit and Control Committee voted against it. During the full county legislature meeting in February, the resolution was tabled.

It was not discussed during any March committee meetings and when the tabled resolution was brought up Wednesday, it was passed without a single legislator commenting on it, even though County Legislators Chuck Nazzaro, Jay Gould and Tom Harmon had voted against it in committee the month prior.

Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon was reached the next day and asked about the resolution. According to Chagnon, they were told by the Dunkirk IDA that this would be the last year there would be a PILOT agreement that would only benefit the city of Dunkirk. “In the future for any PILOT agreements, they would share the revenue with the other taxing jurisdictions,” he said, referring to the county and the Dunkirk City School District.

Chagnon was not certain if the PILOT for the Clarion would be renewed after this year or not.

County Attorney Stephen Abdella said the Clarion’s PILOT is longer than most the county would create today. “I am not aware of any legal limit on the length of PILOT agreements, but the county’s IDA typically has them for up to 10 years, with a few categories of projects eligible for up to 15 years,” he said.