The Knox City Council this week denied a tax abatement request from an embattled local factory, citing their lack of compliance with the terms of the deal.
Selected Furniture, LLC missed last year’s filing deadline, allegedly because they submitted information to the county and not to the city as required. The council denied their abatement request then, too.
“My recommendation is deny it because they owe, they still owe over $30,000 in back taxes. You can’t abate something they’re not paying, and they’re not paying,” Mayor Dennis Estok said Tuesday night.
He pointed to judgment liens placed against the company in 2015 and 2016 for personal property. Selected Furniture also owes an additional $14,600, according to information provided to the council, for a total debt of $32,551.27 as of June 2, 2017.
Additionally the building at 101 West Culver Road was sold at tax sale last Oct. 5. If it is not redeemed within one year, Select Furniture LLC will no longer own the land or structures.
City officials also noted the company is frequently in arrears on its water bill.
Selected Furniture supplies the restaurant industry and operates distribution centers in Knox, Los Angeles and Jacksonville, Fla., according to its website. Selected Furniture set up shop in the former Rockwell Window plant on Culver Road in Knox in 2012. At that time, company officials said the decision to relocate to the Midwest from China was about improved product quality and efficiency.
Indiana Industrial Holdings, LLC is listed as the owner of the 43 acre parcel on which the Knox factory sits.
