Columbia Board of Education reviews $73.6 million Schneider Electric Plant expansion proposal
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia Board of Education unanimously approved a representative from the board to vote in favor of a tax abatement project for an electric plant during Monday night’s meeting.
Prior to the meeting, the district's financial committee recommended that the board vote in favor of a Chapter 100 bond project, for Schneider Electric's "Project Frontier." Members of the Ready Incentive Subcommittee who spoke in favor of the project at the meeting say this expansion would help bring over 200 jobs to Columbia. In return, Schneider Electric is seeking lower taxes for the next ten years for a total of $2.3 million.
Columbia is competing with Schneider plants in four other states to win the project.
“What we’re trying to do is put Columbia in a position to win these jobs,” Ready Incentive Subcommittee member Matt Williams said. “These are very, very competitive projects across the country. Chapter 100 is the only tool we have in Boone County to help incentivize to invest and grow jobs here.”
The Chapter 100 statute allows local governments to partner with economic development projects, usually industrial ones, to help incentivize new investments in real and personal property.
Schneider Electric, which has been making circuit breakers since 1978, is looking to build a 58,000-square-foot addition to its existing plant located on the 4800 block of Paris Road. A presentation from the group says the addition would allow it to relocate existing material storage to the new structure and offer new products due to the space created.
The proposed project is expected to cost $73.6 million and add 241 full-time jobs at an average wage of $24.41 per hour. The company currently has 427 full-time employees with an average wage of $54,839 annually, according to the Chapter 100 application.
The Board of Education is one of several stakeholders to vote on the project.
“Every affected taxing district gets a seat at the table,” Williams explained. “In this case, that's the City of Columbia, public schools, Boone County Family Resources, and the Library Board. Each of them gets a presentation and an opportunity to vote on whether to move it forward to the county commission.”
If approved, the requested 50% abatement would result in an estimated increase in property tax revenues of $2,344,158.60 over the next decade. Following the abatement period, Schneider Electric would be responsible for the annual property tax bills as presented by the County Collector, according to the BOE agenda.
The property taxes that Schneider Electric currently pays would not change. The only changes that would come if the project is approved are the property taxes on the new facility.
“If they're not complying, which none of them ever have, they've all been successful,” Williams said. “There are clawbacks and there are performance agreements that sort of hold the company accountable for what they say they're going to do.”
