Former Orange County lawmaker Leigh Benton joins county IDA board

Leigh J. Benton, who spent 27 years in the Orange County Legislature, has joined the board that helps decide which county-backed tax breaks, development incentives and major projects move ahead in Orange County, effective March 31. Benton is already listed as board secretary on the Industrial Development Agency’s March 25 meeting notice, and an April 15 draft of board minutes placed him among the members present, showing the former majority leader is now inside the room as those decisions are made.

The appointment gives Benton influence over an agency that plays a central role in county economic development, business recruitment and project approvals. The board currently includes Jeffrey Crist as chairman and Dean Tamburri as vice chairman, with Benton serving as secretary alongside members including Linda Muller, Marc Greene and Giovanni Palladino. For Orange County, that matters because the IDA can shape whether projects receive tax abatements, whether developers get public support and how aggressively the county uses its incentive tools.

Benton arrives as the agency is already pushing a new Brownfields Revitalization Initiative launched March 11 with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The program is intended to identify contaminated or abandoned sites, prioritize them for assessment and redevelopment, and make them shovel-ready. OCIDA Chief Executive Officer Bill Fioravanti has described the effort as a way to turn “eyesores” into revenue generators, with the promise of higher property values and a stronger tax base. The first community meeting was scheduled for March 19 at the Orange County Emergency Services Center in Goshen, putting redevelopment plans directly in front of local officials and residents.

The board is also dealing with incentive enforcement, not just new development. On April 22, OCIDA moved to terminate or seek repayment of benefits from three projects after a November 2025 independent monitor’s report found 17 projects had missed employment goals tied to PILOT agreements. Under a policy updated in February 2025, benefit recapture is triggered when a project falls below 85% of its employment requirements, a threshold that gives the board real leverage over companies that promised jobs in exchange for tax relief.

Benton’s appointment also lands in the middle of a contested Town of Newburgh supervisor race. Scott Manley won the town Republican Committee endorsement over Benton by a 37-14 vote on Feb. 21, after Supervisor Gil Piaquadio, who is retiring after 23 years in town service, endorsed Manley. Manley has served as deputy supervisor since 2017, while Stephen Krasner entered the race on Feb. 16, saying he wanted to restore public confidence and offer a different direction. Benton’s new post ties county development policy to the same political landscape that will shape Newburgh’s future.