Tax break OK’d for Getrag site

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April 21, 2010

Board’s goal is to attract new owner

By Daniel Human Tribune staff writer The Kokomo Tribune Wed Apr 21, 2010, 08:30 AM EDT

Tipton — Tipton County approved a $330,000 tax break for the owners of the abandoned Getrag plant site, and a $13 million incentive awaits one more vote.

The Tipton County Board of Commissioners, Economic Redevelopment Commission and Tipton County Council pushed through two pieces of government action Tuesday night that are intended to draw in a solar panel manufacturing company.

The county had a set of meetings to sign off on the incentives, which elected officials have been discussing since late last year.

Rick Hall, an attorney for Barnes & Thornburg LLP working with Tipton on the project, said the incentives are needed in order to convince the company to come. The company has remained undisclosed and the county has referred to it as “Apex.”

“Apex” would bring 850 jobs and would invest $450 million in the $530 million empty plant at the northeast corner of U.S. 31 and Ind. 28, Hall said.

Getrag Transmission LLC partnered with Chrysler LLC on the project, but both companies pulled out. A federal court awarded a trust of contractors ownership of the property as restitution for their not being paid for the work they did.

The county approved Tuesday a resolution that will abate half the taxes the trust owes on the plant for 2010.

If “Apex” bought the plant, the county could continue that abatement for the company for 10 years.

The county council also approved an ordinance that will allow the county to create $13 million in bonds to pay the trust. The trust would use the bonds to lower the cost of the building but not lose money on the deal.

The money for the bonds will come from a Tax Increment Financing district at the plant.

TIFs are areas that local governments use to pull property tax money to fund specific projects. The theory is that when public projects and buildings go up, property values increase and create additional tax revenue. The money is then used to pay off the debts.

County Council President Brad Nichols said he wanted to wait until the council’s May meeting before it voted a second time on the $13 million bond ordinance.

• Daniel Human is a Kokomo Tribune staff writer. He can be reached at 765-454-8570 or via e-mail at daniel.human@kokomotribune.com.

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