ECISD board meets to discuss taxing Summit
The ECISD board of trustees met Tuesday and held a closed meeting to hear a presentation from Moak Casey and & Associates, a firm ECISD hired to advise them on tax code matters.
After the presentation, Superintendent Hector Mendez said the board discussed tax value limitations on the Summit Energy project, which is planning to build a 400-megawatt plant in Penwell.
No action was taken on the item, titled in the agenda as a “Deliberation Regarding Economic Development Negotiations,” because action items can only be presented in open meetings.
“School districts can’t give tax abatements but can give tax limitations,” he said. “Our meeting today was just a discussion of the status of where the discussion is (between Summit and ECISD).”
Kevin O’Hanlon, an attorney working with ECISD and Summit, said tax abatement is a percentage-reduction in taxes, whereas a tax limitation is a limitation on values.
“Let’s assume that in the case at hand, this project goes forward. Abatement would take the 45 percent tax rate and look to decrease it by, I don’t know, 75 percent. But a limitation would say that something normally taxable at a billion dollars would be taxable only at $80 million,” he said.
Mike Atkins, ECISD attorney, said Moak Casey & Associates were hired by the district to negotiate an agreement with Summit Energy pertaining to the tax limitation.
“At some point, the consultants will come back to the board with a proposed agreement, and any agreement will be presented in an open meeting,” he said.
The board also considered the superintendent’s goals, an informational item composed by the superintendent. Mendez said the goals were his interpretation of the board’s work on their core beliefs and commitments.
