Pulaski County is looking to see just how much revenue it stands to gain from a proposed solar farm development. The county commissioners agreed Monday to hire accounting firm Baker Tilly to conduct a financial impact analysis, at the recommendation of Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer.
“They would do an analysis based on timing how the state assesses depreciation to get a fairly sound estimate of the assessed value of all of the used farm equipment divided by township over the ten-year period or whatever, calculate the estimated property tax impact, and then help us to determine what the appropriate tax abatement and then economic development payment amount would be with that project,” Origer explained.
Since there are limits on the total amount of money the county may collect in property taxes, Origer said a tax abatement plus a separate economic development payment could mean both a discount for the developer and extra money for the county government. Baker Tilly’s analysis will give the county some information to use as it begins negotiations with the developer. It will cost the county up to $15,000. The county council will consider financial arrangements next week.
Meanwhile, the county’s advisory plan commission has recommended changing the permit fee for commercial solar panels from $1,250 per megawatt to a flat fee of $15,000 plus 105 percent of any expenses the county incurs as part of the process. But County Attorney Kevin Tankersley wanted to expand the language in the fee ordinance to make it more enforceable, and the commissioners agreed to hold off on any action until their next meeting.
Origer said solar development in question would include two sections in Pulaski County and one in Starke County. “The whole project is going to be approximately one gigawatt, which is 1,000 megawatts,” Origer told the commissioners. “Ballpark, 700,000 of those, give or take, will be in Pulaski County, and the remainder will be in Starke County.”
The proposal is scheduled to go before the Pulaski County Board of Zoning Appeals for a public hearing on July 27.
