Thursday, March 5, 2020
www.plainvillecitizen.com
Volume 16, Number 5
Federal inspection sought
Audit targets manufacturers
By Devin Leith-Yessian The Citizen
By Devin Leith-Yessian The Citizen
TRAIN GOES OFF THE TRACKS
to audit annually until the task was delegated to municipalities in Tax bills totaling some 2009. This was the first $230,000 were sent to 10 year Plainville conductmanufacturers after an ed an audit. audit found the compaHeering said her office nies had under-reported equipment and other is free to audit any business in town. assets.
A train that derailed in the area of Russell Avenue Sunday night was put back on the tracks by Monday afternoon. No significant injuries were reported, though one railroad worker suffered bruises after being thrown from a tanker car, according to Town Manager Robert Lee.
Town assessor Ann Marie Heering said she believes the under-reporting was the result of not understanding depreciation and what assets are exempt from local property tax under the state exemption for manufacturing machinery and equipment.
The cause of the incident, which occurred shortly after 10 p.m., is under investigation. The engine was pushing three empty propane tankers back to the rail yard after delivering a propane shipment in Southington when the train derailed, Lee said. The injured worker was riding the lead tanker.
“I don’t believe it’s because people are intentionally trying to cheat the system,” Heering told the Town Council during a recent meeting. “It really has more to do with the fact that there are items they put on the exemption form that don’t qualify.”
“(Firefighters) were quickly able to determine that there was no leakage of the propane. They were returning the tanks to get refilled, so they were empty,” Lee said.
See Tracks, A6
A train returning empty propane trailers derailed in Plainville on Sunday, March 1. No significant injuries were sustained in the incident. Images courtesy of Plainville Town Manager Robert Lee
The businesses audited were randomly selected from a list of 79 manufacturers, a business category the state used
The firm XYZ conducted the audit, which involved an inspection of the businesses. Once the audit was complete, businesses were encouraged to meet with the town and auditors, an offer all the companies took up. The audit cost the town $10,000. “For the money we spent, clearly we’re getting our money’s worth,” Town Councilor Christopher Wazorko said.
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A small crane returned the rail cars to the tracks by Monday afternoon.
“I picked the manufacturers because they always were audited ... Again, you’ll find a lot of things that are listed on the manufacturing exemption that just don’t meet the criteria,” she said during the Feb. 17 council meeting.