From the Lafayette Journal Courier:
West Lafayette Economic Development Commission President Bill Baitinger was the sole member of the commission to vote against recommending economic redevelopment bonds for the Faith West project after a public hearing Thursday afternoon.
The 3 to 1 vote in support of issuing the bonds means the matter goes back to the West Lafayette City Council at its June 4 meeting for final approval.
Baitinger explained his vote by saying that Faith West, while economic development, would only bring 18 jobs to the community, and that was not sufficient to convince him to back the bond issue for the Baptist church.
If approved by the council next month, the city of West Lafayette would sell up to $7 million in municipal bonds to JPMorgan Chase. The money from the bond sale will be directed to Faith West to build its four-story campus in the 1900 block of Northwestern Avenue. The city is not responsible for the debt. West Lafayette is merely the conduit from which Faith West is accessing financing.
Because the bonds are issued by a municipality, JPMorgan Chase will not pay income tax on the interest of the loan, which is why lending institutions offer these particular bonds at lower interest rates -- generally 30 percent lower than the open market, said Todd Ponder, an attorney for IceMiller representing Faith West.
http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012305240020&nclick_check=1
Here are some earlier posts on this story:
http://indianapropertytaxreporter.blogspot.com/2012/05/faith-ministries-responds-to-objection.html
http://indianapropertytaxreporter.blogspot.com/2012/05/more-on-faith-west-bond-issue.html
