The Pulaski County Council will do more research before continuing its discussion on a Mammoth Solar tax abatement. The item was removed from the agenda a few hours before Monday’s meeting, as litigation over the project continues.
In the meantime, Council President Ken Boswell urged members to do their due diligence, noting their decision will affect a lot of people. A tax break could actually increase the overall amount of money coming into the county. If the developer were to agree to an economic development payment in exchange for lower – or no – taxes, it wouldn’t be subject to the property tax cap.
Council members did take action Monday to put some guidelines in place on abatement requests going forward. Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer says the resolution includes clawback provisions for businesses who don’t meet the conditions of the abatement. It also allows the council to prohibit abatement recipients from appealing property tax assessments. “This way, we’ve got a rulebook,” Origer explained. “We say, ‘If we’re going to do clawbacks, this is the language we’re going to use.’ We’ve got standardized language that is broad enough that it’s going to fit any project.”
Origer said the new guidelines would only apply to future requests, and even then, can be used on a case-by-case basis. Meanwhile, council members plan to meet again next Monday to review current abatements. At least part of the meeting will be open to the public, since council members will have to take action, but the documents they plan to review contain confidential information.
