State legislators announced last week a three-year extension of an independent monitor overseeing the Orange County Industrial Development Agency, along with expanded authority to protect taxpayers from what they described as a pattern of self-dealing and corporate favoritism by the agency’s board.
Sen. James Skoufis (D-Orange County) and Assemblymembers Jonathan Jacobson (D-Newburgh), Chris Eachus (D-New Windsor), and Paula Kay (D-Rock Hill) said the legislation also closes a loophole that previously allowed developers pursuing a separate property tax break to pay construction workers as little as minimum wage.
The monitor position, created in 2023 and housed within the state Inspector General’s office, was designed to provide independent scrutiny of the IDA’s tax incentive packages. Monitor Brian Sanvidge, a forensic accountant with more than 30 years of experience in compliance and government investigations, was appointed in March 2025.
Since his appointment, Sanvidge has identified and resolved dozens of operational deficiencies, found that many companies receiving tax breaks failed to meet their promised job creation targets, and vetoed a tax break package worth more than $80 million sought by an Amazon warehouse facility — a decision the IDA has challenged in state Supreme Court.
Skoufis and his colleagues alleged the IDA has since sought to undermine the monitor by barring him from executive sessions, ignoring his emails, withholding legally required meeting documents, and refusing to pay his fees. Board members have also directed “demeaning remarks, slurs, and attacks on his integrity” at Sanvidge, the legislators said.
“For years the IDA operated like the Wild West, with no accountability to the taxpayers or the communities they purport to serve,” Skoufis said in a statement. “The monitor we fought so hard to put in place has served as a critical line of defense for taxpayers against the IDA’s rogue, reckless behavior.”
Jacobson said the extension sends a clear message that the Legislature takes taxpayer money seriously. “If municipalities and their school districts are getting less tax revenue, then the economic benefits from these tax breaks must be real,” he said, adding that the IDA should claw back incentives from companies that fail to deliver promised jobs.
Eachus called the IDA’s resistance to oversight a telling sign. “That must mean that the monitor is doing an excellent job,” he said.
Under the original legislation, the IDA is required to fund the monitor’s position, with no cost to state taxpayers.
The companion provision on 485-B tax breaks — a non-IDA program that grants property tax reductions to developers — requires those projects to meet labor standards and prevailing construction wage requirements going forward.
The Orange County IDA released a statement late Tuesday afternoon in response to last week’s announcement.
“We are disappointed that some of our own representatives in the state legislature ignored the facts around this IDA and instead chose to significantly impede Orange County’s ability to attract successful companies and create quality jobs,” the statement read. “At a time when our residents are struggling to pay for gas, utilities and taxes, they needed these officials’ support more than ever. Regardless of this troubling outcome, the Orange County IDA remains focused on faithfully and transparently employing our state-given tools to grow and strengthen our local economy.”