Pulaski County officials are hopeful that revenues from the Mammoth Solar development could pay for much of the Justice Center and Courthouse projects, even though the developers are requesting the maximum possible tax abatement.
A 100-percent, 20-year abatement is being requested for the solar farm. But the county would still get money in other ways, according to County Attorney Kevin Tankersley. “I think when you say ‘tax abatement,’ it generally gets people’s back up a little bit that you’re giving somebody a break,” Tankersley told the county council and commissioners Monday. “They’re paying the real estate taxes. They may be paying more real estate taxes than they were paying before. You’re giving them a tax break on the panels that they’re going to put in at their cost, and then they’re going to share the wealth of what those panels produce with you, so they’re going to actually give you more than you would’ve gotten by taxing them.”
In exchange for the tax abatement on the solar panels, Mammoth Solar would agree to a structured plan of economic development payments, money that’s isn’t subject to property tax caps. Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer said the payments would be based on megawatt production, but he also wants to stipulate a minimum payment and insurance requirements.
“So then if there’s an act of God, like a tornado comes through or Bigfoot comes through and tears it all up, their insurer is on the hook for making up that revenue for us, instead of giving them a break for a year or whatever while they rebuild,” Origer explained.
That revenue could then be used to cover the debt service for the Courthouse and Justice Center projects, and it could also be shared with the other taxing entities within the county.
The county council and commissioners set up a committee to handle those negotiations. It will be made up of Origer, County Attorney Kevin Tankersley, Commissioner Chuck Mellon, and council members Adam Loehmer and Mike Tiede. The final agreement will also depend on the findings of an economic impact analysis from accounting firm Baker Tilly.
The county council went on to approve the first step of the abatement process by declaring a 9,200-acre area of the county an economic revitalization area by a vote of four-to-two.
Council Member Brian Young had several concerns, including the fact that the project is still in litigation, the economic impact analysis isn’t complete, and Mammoth Solar representatives haven’t attended a county council meeting. Attorney Jason Kuchmay, who represents a number of opponents to the project, argued that declaring thousands of acres of farmland an economic revitalization area isn’t what the state law intended.
But Origer said that the state has made it clear that the county council can do what it wants in this case. “The Department of Local Government Finance provides ‘great latitude’ in their own words to the local fiscal body to exercise its discretion,” Origer said. “If you believe that a beautiful cornfield is not in its most desirable condition because it cannot foster growth to a new level, then that is your discretion.”
The approval of the first step means the council can proceed with scheduling a public hearing, before deciding whether to give its final approval to the tax abatement and economic development agreement. That hearing is tentatively scheduled for October 25 at 7:00 p.m. EDT.
