Hague board opposes converting CHPE pilot agreement to host-community agreement, citing school tax risk

The Hague Town Board voted to adopt a resolution opposing any conversion of the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) pilot payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement into a host-community agreement (HCA).

During a detailed explanation, Jack (speaker 4), representing the school advisory committee, said converting a pilot to an HCA "raises a number of concerns including shifting the governing law from New York State real property tax law for pilots to contract law for HCAs," which the committee believes could remove the Ticonderoga Central School District’s ability to take possession and sell property in the event of nonpayment and could exclude pilot project value from school tax levies. Jack said the committee had found the change "could be subject to audit to the New York State Comptroller and to legal challenge, thereby creating a material impairment of school tax finances."

The board carried the resolution with an abstention recorded; members had previously debated the procedural history, noting an Essex County Industrial Development Agency action on Dec. 1, 2025 provided affected municipalities with a resolution to enter a host-community agreement and withdraw from the pilot agreement. Board members and the school advisory committee said municipal and school-district officials had not had adequate opportunity for discussion before those steps. The school advisory committee urged other municipalities to resist conversion if it were proposed.

The resolution does not itself change CHPE’s agreements; it registers the town’s opposition and asks other affected bodies to consider the fiscal and legal consequences. Board members flagged potential follow-up actions that could include requesting audits or further legal review, but no legal action or binding enforcement was initiated at the meeting.