Verona estimates Nation property at $399,000,000
April 28, 2005

By KRISTA KARCH
Observer-Disptach

VERONA -- The Oneida Indian Nation could owe nearly $13 million in property taxes and sales taxes, Verona town officials said Wednesday as they unveiled their appraisal of Turning Stone Resort and Casino.

Total estimated value of Turning Stone and 216 other Nation-related properties in the town: $399 million.

This off-the-scale figure would nearly triple Verona's townwide assessed property value.

It amounts to roughly 5,300 times Verona's median home value of $75,200 listed in the 2000 census.

And the new tax revenue could more than double Verona's town budget -- if the Nation pays the tax.

That was far from clear Wednesday: Nation officials said they had no comment. The Oneidas have applied for federal trust status for their lands that could maintain the property's tax-exempt status.

But buoyed by long-held passions of town residents and the apparent favor of the U.S. Supreme Court, the town pushed back Wednesday against the Oneida Indian Nation's tax-exempt empire with an 11-page property assessment document.

The assessment sets in motion a process that could ultimately settle the Nation's decades-old land claim of about 250,000 Central New York acres, said Harry Burton, a member of Upstate Citizens for Equality, a landowners' rights group long critical of the Nation's tax exemptions.

"This is just the beginning now, maybe to get things settled," he said.

Burton and his wife, Beverly, live on Route 31 within minutes of Turning Stone. He said the situation will raise awareness and people will demand change.

"I think it's got to open people's eyes and get things going here," he said.

An appraiser hired by the town at the urging of residents valued the Turning Stone Resort and Casino at $362,550,000.

The Wisconsin firm, American Appraisers, assessed the value of the casino complex, which includes a gaming hall, 279-room luxury hotel; 287-room tower hotel, 98-suite hotel, 800-seat showroom and 5,100-seat events center.

Several other previously unassessed Nation properties were valued at a total of roughly $22 million.

The town declared several Nation parcels tax-exempt in 1993 in an effort to protect school district funding. But after a U.S. Supreme Court decision in March said the Nation is responsible for property taxes on parcels owned in the city of Sherrill, Verona residents spoke out against the resort's tax exemptions.

"There was a groundswell of constituents that wanted it placed back on the tax rolls," Town Supervisor David Reed said. "They're my boss."

The parcels join more than 210 other Nation-owned parcels in Verona that have been billed annually for property taxes. The total value of those parcels is about $15 million and would generate about $105,000 in town property taxes, Reed said.

The Nation has not paid taxes on those parcels -- but that was before the Supreme Court ruling. In all, the town, county and Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Central School District could see some $13 million in new property and sales tax revenue.

The Nation has 10 days to file a grievance for it to be heard May 24 at the town's annual grievance day -- a move that could tie the tax claim up in court for months.

The town has until mid-November to settle grievances with property owners before tax bills are prepared for January. Until then, town officials can only speculate on how the Nation will respond to the assessment notice.

"The truth is, we can't make anybody pay their taxes," Reed said.

In a brief statement released Tuesday, Nation spokesman Mark Emery said Nation officials have not had the time to study the documents.

Verona's town budget is only about $2 million, so receiving taxes from the Oneidas could be a fiscal boon for the town.

"I have my doubts whether they'll pay," Reed said at Wednesday morning's news conference at which he unveiled the assessment figures.

If the Nation decides to pay the property taxes, Oneida County could see more than $3 million in revenue. If it does not, the county could foreclose on the properties -- a right not extended to town governments.

County officials said Wednesday they would explore all options for recourse if the Nation does not pay, but Reed pointed out the county has failed to take action on the parcels already being billed.

County Finance Commissioner Anthony Carvelli said the county did not foreclose on those properties because it was unclear whether the tax liens were enforceable.

"We were not, just like the city of Sherrill, in a position to foreclose on those," he said.

Reed hand-delivered the assessment information to Diane Stirling, the Nation's government affairs official, Tuesday afternoon.

"They offered me coffee, said 'thank you very much,'" Reed said. "They didn't indicate whether they will or will not pay."