§ 2306. Purpose and powers of the authority. The purposes of the authority shall be to promote, develop, encourage and assist in the acquiring, constructing, reconstructing, improving, maintaining, equipping and furnishing industrial, manufacturing, warehouse, commercial and research facilities and facilities for use by a federal agency or a medical facility including industrial pollution control facilities, which may include transportation facilities including but not limited to those relating to water, highway, rail and air, in one or more areas of the city, and thereby advance the job opportunities, health, general prosperity and economic welfare of the people of said city and to improve their medical care and standard of living; provided, however, that the authority shall not undertake any project if the completion thereof would result in the removal of an industrial or manufacturing plant of the project occupant from one area of the state to another area of the state or in abandonment of one or more plants or facilities of the project applicant located within the state, provided, however, that neither restriction shall apply if the authority shall determine on the basis of the application before it that the project is reasonably necessary to discourage the project occupant from removing such other plant or facility to a location outside the state or is reasonably necessary to preserve the competitive position of the project occupant in its respective industry. Except as otherwise provided for in this section, no financial assistance of the authority shall be provided in respect of any project where facilities or property that are primarily used in making retail sales to customers who personally visit such facilities constitute more than one-third of the total project cost. For the purposes of this article, "retail sales" shall mean: (i) sales by a registered vendor under article twenty-eight of the tax law primarily engaged in the retail sale of tangible personal property, as defined in subparagraph (i) of paragraph four of subdivision (b) of section eleven hundred one of the tax law; or (ii) sales of a service to such customers. Except, however, that tourism destination projects shall not be prohibited by this paragraph. For the purpose of this paragraph, "tourism destination" shall mean a location or facility which is likely to attract a significant number of visitors from outside the economic development region as established by section two hundred thirty of the economic development law, in which the project is located.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, such financial assistance may, however, be provided to a project where facilities or property that are primarily used in making retail sales of goods or services to customers who personally visit such facilities to obtain such goods or services constitute more than one-third of the total project cost, where: (i) the predominant purpose of the project would be to make available goods or services which would not, but for the project, be reasonably accessible to the residents of the city of Auburn because of a lack of reasonably accessible retail trade facilities offering such goods or services; or (ii) the project is located in a highly distressed area. With respect to projects authorized pursuant to this paragraph no project shall be approved unless the authority shall find after the public hearing required by section twenty-three hundred seven of this title that undertaking the project will serve the public purposes of this article by preserving permanent, private sector jobs or increasing the overall number of permanent, private sector jobs in the state. Where the authority makes such a finding, prior to providing financial assistance to the project by the authority, the chief executive officer of the city of Auburn shall confirm the proposed action of the authority. To carry out said purpose, the authority shall have power:

1. To sue and be sued;

2. To have a seal and alter the same at pleasure;

3. To acquire, hold and dispose of personal property for its corporate purpose;

4. To acquire by purchase, grant, lease, gift, condemnation, or otherwise and to use, real property or rights or easements therein necessary for its corporate purposes, and to sell, convey, mortgage, lease, pledge, exchange or otherwise dispose of any such property in such manner as the authority shall determine. With respect to real property conveyed to it by the city, however, such power of disposition shall be limited as hereinafter provided in section twenty-three hundred ten of this title;

5. To make by-laws for the management and regulation of its affairs and, subject to agreements with its bondholders, for the regulation of the use of the project.

6. With the consent of the city, to use agents, employees and facilities of the city, paying the city its agreed proportion of the compensation or costs.

7. To appoint officers, agents and employees, to prescribe their qualifications and to fix their compensation and to pay the same out of funds of the authority, subject, however, to the provisions of the civil service law hereinafter provided in section twenty-three hundred eight of this title;

8. To retain and employ financial advisors, engineers, architects, attorneys and other consultants for professional and technical assistance and advice; that an attorney acting as bond counsel for a project must file with the authority a written statement in which the attorney identifies each party to the transaction which such attorney represents. If bond counsel provides any legal services to the parties other than the authority, the written statement must describe the nature of legal services provided by such bond counsel to all parties to the transaction, including the nature of the services provided to the authority;

9. To make contracts and leases upon such terms as the authority shall deem appropriate, including without limitation leases which grant the tenant of a project an option to renew or an option to purchase the project, or both, at a fixed or otherwise predetermined price, and to execute all instruments necessary or convenient;

10. To acquire, construct, reconstruct, lease, improve, maintain, equip or furnish one or more projects;

11. To accept gifts, grants, loans or contributions from, and enter into contracts or other transactions with, the United States and the state or any agency of either of them, any municipality, any public or private corporation or any other legal entity, and to use any such gifts, grants, loans or contributions for any of its corporate purposes;

12. To borrow money and to issue bonds and to provide for the rights of the holders thereof;

13. To designate the depositories of its money in the city of Auburn.

14. To enter into agreements requiring payments in lieu of taxes. Such agreements shall be in writing and in addition to other terms shall contain: the amount due annually to each affected tax jurisdiction (or a formula by which the amount due can be calculated), the name and address of the person, office or agency to which payment shall be delivered, the date on which the payment shall be made, and the date on which payment shall be considered delinquent if not paid. Unless otherwise agreed by the affected tax jurisdictions, any such agreement shall provide that payments in lieu of taxes shall be allocated among affected tax jurisdictions in proportion to the amount of real property tax and other taxes which would have been received by each affected tax jurisdiction had the project not been tax exempt due to the status of the agency involved in the project. A copy of any such agreement shall be delivered to each tax affected jurisdiction within fifteen days of signing the agreement. In the absence of any such written agreement, payments in lieu of taxes shall be allocated in the same proportions as they had been prior to January first, nineteen hundred ninety-three for so long as the authority's activities render a project non-taxable by affected tax jurisdictions.

15. To establish and reestablish its fiscal year; and

16. To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out its purposes and exercise the powers expressly given in this title.