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Downtown Asbury Park developer Sackman Enterprises is disputing the start date for five years’ worth of payments to the city owed on the Steinbach’s building.

The calculations are a year off, Sackman said, and the difference in payment is about $100,000 less than the city claims. The amounts in dispute are owed under a payment in lieu of taxes [PILOT] agreement for the residential portion of the Steinbachs building.

As of February 25, 2014, the city claims the balance owed was $591,906.93, which includes interest per day of $285.29, according to correspondence sent to Sackman from City Manager John “Jack” Kelly.

An 18 percent interest rate is allowed under the PILOT agreement and started accruing the day after the city sent Sackman a bill for the payments on December 26, the letter states.

The city neglected to bill the company for the payments on both the Steinbach building and 550 Cookman Avenue apartment complex and only realized the error at the end of last year. Since then, Sackman has paid the balance on the 550 Cookman complex but has yet to do so for the Steinbach building.

Sackman is contesting the minimum annual service charge bill for 2009 at the Steinbach building and has told the city if the two cannot come to an agreement, he will seek arbitration in the matter, he said. The PILOT agreement allows arbitration in disputes.

The city is currently reviewing the billing for 2009, Kelly said, but both the city’s municipal finance officer and independent auditor reviewed the billing before it went out to Sackman and he does not expect there was an error.

Additionally, Sackman contends the city billed him for a $200,000 sewer connection fee on the building, which the company paid before he realized he was mistakenly billed — a sewer connection was already attached to the site and has not been augmented, he said. By the time the error was realized, the statute of limitations had expired and because he could not legally sue the city there was no way for him to recoup the payment, he said.

“I’m not looking for a cute way not to pay taxes,” Sackman said. “We’re really just discussing what the proper amount should be.”

City manager Jack Kelly views the issue of the sewer bill as being totally separate from the PILOT dispute.

“He was disappointed he had to pay a sewer fee and is trying to tie them together,” Kelly said. “He’s hoping to get a credit against his PILOT for the sewer payment he paid. I think one has nothing to do with the other. He has a PILOT agreement he has to pay.”

Sackman says he still wants to resolve the dispute without having an arbitrator make the final ruling.

“Hopefully we can just work it out and I can cut them a check and we are done,” Sackman said.

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