American Axle gets big cut in property taxes in Buffalo
But it is not known if the savings boost the odds of survival for the faltering plant
By Fred O. Williams NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER

Tax breaks aren't just for growing companies.

American Axle & Manufacturing has cut a quarter million dollars from its annual taxes in Buffalo - a move that other industrial sites are attempting.

"It's a substantial savings," the company's lawyer Bruce S. Zeftel said, "but the property was overvalued."

A county judge agreed last year, slashing the factory's $12.5 million assessment nearly in half. That cuts city and county taxes to about $270,000, from $531,000 a year.

The axle maker wouldn't say if the savings boost the odds of survival for faltering plant on East Delavan Avenue. The axle factory has shed about half its former 1,200 jobs, and is one of three sites where production lines could be idled.

The 41-acre site includes parking as well as the main plant built in 1923, plus more recent additions.

Detroit-based American Axle is also challenging taxes on its other area plants in Cheektowaga and the Town of Tonawanda.

"The going rate for industrial properties is pretty low," Zeftel said. Besides American Axle, he has filed assessment challenges for major employers including Quebecor in Depew and Praxair in the Town of Tonawanda.

Helping fuel the disputes is a glut of factory space in the Buffalo area, which is eroding market values. What they don't pay increases the burden on other revenue sources - mainly homeowners.

The region's best-known example is probably Lackawanna's longrunning battle over the former Bethlehem Steel property on Lake Erie. Assessed at $40 million, the disused industrial site is actually worth nothing, owner Mittal Steel argues. A court case is pending.

In the Town of Cheektowaga, the axle maker's challenge is one of about 40 ongoing tax disputes on commercial properties, Town Attorney Kevin Schenk said.

The length of the dispute process cushions municipalities from sudden hits to their tax base. In most jurisdictions, an assessment challenge is heard by a municipal appeal body before the issue can go to court. In Buffalo, American Axle's assessment cut stands in contrast to commercial properties closer to downtown, where values are growing, according to the city's assessment office.