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MY VIEW: Editorial regarding Kaz was a hatchet job
By Richard Katzman
CEO
Kaz, Incorporated
We were disappointed by your editorial (“Sending the Wrong Message”). While many of the facts are blatantly incorrect, the overall tone of attacking a local employer for simply defending its rights sends exactly the kind of anti-business message the IDA was concerned about.
Firstly, our statement at the time we announced our plant closure correctly attributed the move to a change in the way companies have shifted operations to outside resources rather than keeping them in-house. This is a well-documented global trend and is based on indisputable economic efficiencies that executives disregard only at the risk of their company’s survival. We have never blamed the closure on the downturn in the economy, as your editorial accuses. The reality is business conditions have changed and our choice was to either accept that change or become uncompetitive and perish. Either way, our Hudson manufacturing operation could not continue.
Even more importantly, Kaz has always lived up to all of its obligations to the community and the agencies that have provided economic incentives over the years. We have always exceeded the employment numbers and repaid loans on time. There was never any threat of a lawsuit should the IDA have voted to impose the claw-back and we did not hire counsel to represent us. We were simply making our case that the claw-back was not warranted in light of Kaz’s history in the community and the long-established policy of the IDA to look forward on PILOT changes, not backwards. The majority of the IDA Board made the same point at the hearing. Treasurer Halloran has sincere intentions but doesn’t fully take into account the implications of her actions. I can assure you that businesses do consider issues like these when making decisions on locating or expanding their operations.
In terms of the $131,838 loan, that will, of course, be repaid in full on a timely basis. The loan has been part of the consideration during ongoing direct negotiations with the City on a donation of our entire Hudson property to the City for use as industrial incubator space and we had been awaiting the courtesy of a formal reply. Upon written notification that they are not interested or able to pursue that transaction we will settle the loan immediately.
And while the Salvation Army is a worthy cause, so are Hudson Opera House, Stageworks, and Hudson High School, where we are proud to have sponsored their FIRST Robotics team the past five years. Kaz has been and continues to be an active participant in the community (our charitable contributions are considerably more than the amount mentioned here) and we don’t need this newspaper to mock our efforts.
Finally, I have personally made myself available to this newspaper for dozens of hours over the years so it would have been responsible for the reporter or editor to contact me for comment prior to such a hatchet job. Kaz remains one of the larger local employers, with 40 people still working at our Greenport facility. We are loyal to our excellent employees but wonder why any business would want to subject itself to such shameful treatment by editors who should know better.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Richard Katzman contacted this newspaper Friday to dispute the notion that he threatened a lawsuit regarding the “claw-back” of the $12,000 by the IDA. He said that at no point did he hire a lawyer or say that he would sue. Katzman did say that he said he would fight any attempt at recapture. On Friday he said his intention was that this “fight” would occur at the IDA hearing, not in a courtroom. A call to city of Hudson Treasurer Eileen Halloran confirmed that he said he will “fight” the claw-back and she interpreted this statement to mean a fight would take place in a court of law. Part of our editorial was based on the notion that a lawsuit by Katzman would be forthcoming. If the difference between what Katzman had said and meant regarding where this “fight” would take place had been clarified earlier this week, the idea that a lawsuit would have been filed by Kaz over $12,000 would not have been necessary in the editorial.
Firstly, our statement at the time we announced our plant closure correctly attributed the move to a change in the way companies have shifted operations to outside resources rather than keeping them in-house. This is a well-documented global trend and is based on indisputable economic efficiencies that executives disregard only at the risk of their company’s survival. We have never blamed the closure on the downturn in the economy, as your editorial accuses. The reality is business conditions have changed and our choice was to either accept that change or become uncompetitive and perish. Either way, our Hudson manufacturing operation could not continue.
Even more importantly, Kaz has always lived up to all of its obligations to the community and the agencies that have provided economic incentives over the years. We have always exceeded the employment numbers and repaid loans on time. There was never any threat of a lawsuit should the IDA have voted to impose the claw-back and we did not hire counsel to represent us. We were simply making our case that the claw-back was not warranted in light of Kaz’s history in the community and the long-established policy of the IDA to look forward on PILOT changes, not backwards. The majority of the IDA Board made the same point at the hearing. Treasurer Halloran has sincere intentions but doesn’t fully take into account the implications of her actions. I can assure you that businesses do consider issues like these when making decisions on locating or expanding their operations.
In terms of the $131,838 loan, that will, of course, be repaid in full on a timely basis. The loan has been part of the consideration during ongoing direct negotiations with the City on a donation of our entire Hudson property to the City for use as industrial incubator space and we had been awaiting the courtesy of a formal reply. Upon written notification that they are not interested or able to pursue that transaction we will settle the loan immediately.
And while the Salvation Army is a worthy cause, so are Hudson Opera House, Stageworks, and Hudson High School, where we are proud to have sponsored their FIRST Robotics team the past five years. Kaz has been and continues to be an active participant in the community (our charitable contributions are considerably more than the amount mentioned here) and we don’t need this newspaper to mock our efforts.
Finally, I have personally made myself available to this newspaper for dozens of hours over the years so it would have been responsible for the reporter or editor to contact me for comment prior to such a hatchet job. Kaz remains one of the larger local employers, with 40 people still working at our Greenport facility. We are loyal to our excellent employees but wonder why any business would want to subject itself to such shameful treatment by editors who should know better.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Richard Katzman contacted this newspaper Friday to dispute the notion that he threatened a lawsuit regarding the “claw-back” of the $12,000 by the IDA. He said that at no point did he hire a lawyer or say that he would sue. Katzman did say that he said he would fight any attempt at recapture. On Friday he said his intention was that this “fight” would occur at the IDA hearing, not in a courtroom. A call to city of Hudson Treasurer Eileen Halloran confirmed that he said he will “fight” the claw-back and she interpreted this statement to mean a fight would take place in a court of law. Part of our editorial was based on the notion that a lawsuit by Katzman would be forthcoming. If the difference between what Katzman had said and meant regarding where this “fight” would take place had been clarified earlier this week, the idea that a lawsuit would have been filed by Kaz over $12,000 would not have been necessary in the editorial.
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