From the Washington Times Herald:
The Daviess County Council tabled a request by a Kentucky company for a tax abatement on a $10.2 million project.
Trilogy Healthcare Services of Louisville applied for the 10-year abatement on taxes for a new nursing home complex on Troy Road. The project application states the company would add 65 full-time jobs and 35 part-time jobs with an annual payroll of $3 million.
Local officials though were hesitant to grant the abatement and were even cautioned against it.
“We welcome any investment,” said Ron Arnold with the Daviess County Economic Development Corporation. “I just worry about the precedent this project might set. Daviess County has not offered abatements in the past to companies involved in service and retail operations. This isn’t just about Trilogy but it impacts every existing nursing home in the county. This may be a can of worms the county may not want to open.”
No one from Trilogy attended the meeting even though County Attorney Grant Swartzentruber says they were invited and encouraged to be on hand to answer questions.
“As I understand it this is part assisted living and part skilled nursing,” said Councilman Kenneth Solliday. “I’d like to hear from them.”
Council members expressed concern that the tax abatement for the new company would put it at an advantage over existing nursing home facilities. “We need to treat people fairly,” said Councilman Jo Arthur. “We may need to set out that there are certain classes of businesses that we won’t give an abatement to.”
Representatives of one area nursing home encouraged the council not to approve the tax break. “Competition is good, but the abatement would give them an unfair advantage,” said Julie Helm-Chapman, co-owner of the Legends on Troy Road. “Every place they have gone has resulted in an existing nursing home closing. They won’t really be creating jobs. They’ll just be shifting them. Any new beds they create will just take from existing beds in the county. There are open beds and open jobs in this county.”
“We checked on the possibility of seeking abatements when we built the Legends, but were told they were only for manufacturing,” added Legends co-owner Scott Dyer.
While council members were not ready to approve the abatement proposal they also were not ready to completely pull the plug on it. “I don’t think they would have selected Daviess County if there wasn’t a need,” said Council President Mike Myers. “Let’s hear from them and see what they have to say.”
The proposal is scheduled to come back before the council at its Nov. 13 meeting.
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http://washtimesherald.com/local/x1442586880/Daviess-County-Council-puts-abatement-on-hold
