NIAGARA COUNTY: Delphi suing Lockport's city, town over property assessments

The work has to be done by Dec. 12, the date of the next pre-trial conference in the matter of Delphi versus the city.

Delphi is suing the city -- and the town -- to win major reductions in assessed values of five parcels that compose the West Plant on Upper Mountain Road.

Delphi claims the largest parcel, 200 Upper Mountain in the city, is worth $16.5 million, not $23 million as the city asserted on the 2009 assessment roll.

It claims four parcels in the town -- 5600, 5602, 5604 and 5701 Upper Mountain -- have a combined value of $520,980, not $10 million, as the town asserted on its 2009 assessment roll.

State Supreme Court siding with Delphi in the dispute could be a "crushing" blow to Lockport, Treasurer Michael E. White said Tuesday. Delphi is the city's second-biggest taxpayer, contributing 3.6 percent of its property tax income; this year's bill from the city was for $362,000.

Delphi is a major taxpayer in the Lockport City School District as well. On 200 Upper Mountain, the bill out now for the 2009-10 fiscal year is nearly $600,000, based on the $23 million assessment. Its most recent Niagara County tax bill was for $196,000.

Delphi filed the suits in mid-July, after both the city's and the town's Boards of Assessment Review rejected Delphi's requests for local lowering of values.

Delphi's attorney in the suits, Paul Morrison-Taylor of Phillips Lytle LLP, was not authorized to speak Tuesday about how the company arrived at its version of fair-market values on the five parcels.

The suits seek a 28 percent reduction in value of city-based property and a nearly 95 percent reduction in value of town-based property.

The worst-case scenario isn't as bad for the town as it sounds, officials said.

While a portion of water and sewer revenues are property value-based, the town does not have a general property tax. The plant's assessed value is $7.2 million, but nearly $6 million is exempt, Assessor John Shoemaker said.

Delphi's property holdings represent a very small portion of overall assessed value in the town, $10 million of $985.6 million. Despite the recession, overall value rose "substantially" this year, Town Attorney Daniel E. Seaman said, so Delphi value reductions "would not have a huge impact on the town."

The town also has to obtain a preliminary appraisal on the Delphi properties by early December. Its first court date with Delphi was held by teleconference last week.

City Attorney John Ottaviano will meet with school district and county officials to discuss sharing the cost of appraising 200 Upper Mountain, he said.

Lockport Mayor Michael Tucker said the assessment suit isn't welcome news, "but it's not the end of the world, either. Tax, water and sewer (revenue) from Delphi is about 3 percent of our budget; it's a lot less than it used to be. We've weaned ourselves off of them."

General Motors last scored a major reduction on Lockport property values in 1986, when it and the city reached an out-of-court settlement of suits challenging four years of city assessments. The settlement gradually reduced the value of 200 Upper Mountain from $78.6 million in 1982 to $35.8 million in 1989. As part of the settlement, GM received $825,000 in city, school and county tax refunds, paid as credits on four years of future tax bills.

Delphi Corp., a GM spinoff company, has been operating in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since October 2005. The company has indicated it expects to emerge from bankruptcy by Sept. 30 with an exit plan that includes returning the Lockport plant to General Motors.

In August, Delphi reported a loss of $592 million for the second quarter of the year.

Business reporter Joe Olenick contributed to this report. Contact Joyce Miles at 439-9222, ext. 6245.

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