Absence and uncertainty.
Those were the two things that led the Oxford Township Board last week to take no action following an hour-long discussion regarding the Legacy Center owner’s request to establish a special district that would allow him to apply for a 10-year property tax abatement.
There was a complete absence of information from the applicant in the board members? packets and there was uncertainty over what the state is going to do regarding the abatement law that’s set to expire next month.
‘What does it hurt for this board to sit back for another 30 or 60 days (and) get all the information in front of them, so they can make an educated vote? I don’t have a problem with that,? said township Supervisor Bill Dunn.
The issue will once again be addressed at the township’s 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 9 meeting. The board meets at the township hall located at 300 Dunlap Rd., just north of Seymour Lake Rd.
Lake Orion resident Christian Mills, who owns the 208,000-square-foot Legacy Center at 925 N. Lapeer Rd., is planning to seek a 10-year abatement of local property taxes under the state’s Commercial Rehabilitation Act. He requested the township board take the first step in the process by establishing a commercial rehabilitation district on his 19.74-acre property.
‘The tax abatement that we’re asking for is really nominal and that money will be used to continue to finish the improvements in the building (and) continue to finish the improvements outside,? he told the board. ‘I think it will be a place that we can all be proud of.?
Mills purchased the old Sea Ray boat plant in September 2014. He’s in the process of transforming it into a facility containing a mixture of businesses focused on family entertainment, sports, training, exercise, health and wellness, education, life skill development, art and dining.
‘We’ll have probably 20 to 25 businesses in this building,? he said. ‘We’re about 70-75 percent leased now.?
‘We’ve taken a building that was almost obsolete (and) invested millions of dollars to bring this building to where it is today and will have to invest millions more to complete this project,? Mills noted. ‘This is unique.?
Mills is investing between $5 million and $10 million in the Legacy Center project.
The commercial rehabilitation abatement Mills is hoping to receive would freeze the taxable value of his building and exempt any new investment in it from local property taxes for a period of up to 10 years.
Under this type of abatement, Mills would still pay the full 52.8756 mills in local, county and state taxes on the frozen value of the building, however, he would only pay 23.9442 in school taxes on the improvements (i.e. new investment) he makes to it. He would not have to pay the 28.9314 mills in township, county and school debt taxes on the improvements.
‘I’m not really looking for a free ride,? Mills said. ‘There’s a misperception about tax abatements that they’re unfair, that entrepreneurs are being opportunistic to take away tax dollars from the community. This really couldn’t be farther from my objective.?
Although Mills talked a lot about his plans and how he believes his project will benefit the community, in the end, he supplied no specific information to the board upon which to base any decisions. There was nothing in the members? packets other than a short memo from Clerk Curtis Wright stating Mills was requesting the establishment of a district.
‘We don’t have anything in front of us,? Dunn said.
‘I don’t understand why the applicant didn’t give me some more information,? said Trustee Sue Bellairs. ‘I’m just shocked that (he) didn’t do that.?
Representatives from Oakland County were supposed to attend the township meeting to discuss the ins and outs of the Commercial Rehabilitation Act and the impact of granting tax abatements under it.
However, Mills explained to the board ‘there was a little bit of confusion? and no one from the county was there.
‘My apologies. I take responsibility for that,? he said.
In addition to lacking information, some board members expressed concern about taking action regarding something that’s slated to disappear at the end of the year.
The Commercial Rehabilitation Act, enacted in 2005, has a sunset provision or expiration date. It states no new commercial rehabilitation exemptions shall be granted after Dec. 31, 2015.
There are currently two bills, one in the House and one in the Senate, that seek to change that. The House bill would extend the sunset to Dec. 31, 2020, while the Senate bill would simply repeal the existing sunset provision.
‘We’ve been told by Oakland County that they’re very confident that this will be extended,? Mills said.
Treasurer Joe Ferrari, who’s staunchly opposed to any and all tax abatements, urged the board to see what state is going to do, or not do, before taking any action.
‘My thing is, at least wait until after Dec. 31, see if it’s extended,? he said. ‘Let’s say the state puts the kibosh on it, then this is for nothing . . . You don’t know what’s going to happen.?
Even if the sunset is extended, Mills missed the Oct. 31 deadline to have all the necessary paperwork filed with the State Tax Commission in order to potentially have an abatement beginning with the 2016 tax year.
Trustee Jack Curtis wanted to take some type of action to at least move things forward, so he made a motion to create a township-wide policy regarding commercial rehabilitation abatements and have Mills pay all the legal and administrative costs associated with it.
‘If (the state law) cancels out in December and they don’t renew it, then we aren’t on the hook for anything,? he said.
The only tax abatement policy the township currently has on the books pertains to industrial facilities. It was approved in a 4-3 vote back in November 2011.
Bellairs wasn’t comfortable with the idea of having a private individual finance the creation of a township policy.
‘It can’t be whoever has the most money gets to have a policy,? she said. ‘That’s just not right . . . I don’t think it’s right for anybody to have to pay for a township policy.?
The motion was defeated 5-2 with the only affirmative votes coming from Curtis and Trustee Buck Cryderman.
Representatives from two of the township entities that would be impacted by a potential tax abatement addressed the board and they were not pleased that the township had not notified them about this or sought their input.
Oxford Public Library Director Bryan Cloutier was upset that he learned about this issue not from the township, but when this reporter contacted him seeking comment for a story about Mills? request.
‘Quite honestly, if I hadn’t been approached by the editor of the local newspaper, I would have had no idea that this was even being discussed tonight,? he said.
To Cloutier, something with the potential to have such an appreciable impact on local tax revenues ‘deserves a little more attention than that? from the township.
‘Everybody who (represents) a government unit here would have had no clue if the local paper hadn’t told us,? he told the board. ‘Half of you don’t even have all the information. So, why would you even, in good conscience, make a decision without going through due process . . . for something that’s as significant as this, that’s going to have a huge impact on this community??
Parks and Rec. Director Ron Davis believes the township board should seek input from the five-member elected commission that oversees his department and the six-member elected board that oversees the public library.
‘You’re not the only one that it’s going to affect,? said Davis, who, like Cloutier, noted he wouldn’t have known about this had the Leader not reported on it.
‘I’m not against it, but you have two other elected boards . . . that should at least have the opportunity to say, ‘we’re all in favor? or (ask) what’s it going to cost us, those types of things,? Davis continued. ‘That’s the least you could do is throw it back to them.?
Contained within the discussion about the Legacy Center’s request was a mini-debate over the pros and cons of tax abatements with Ferrari outlining his reasons for opposition and Mills extolling the potential benefits.
Ferrari believes tax abatements are a way for government to subsidize private businesses and he does not think that’s right or fair.
‘By granting any type of an abatement, you’re meddling in the private sector and playing favorites,? the treasurer said.
Ferrari used the example of existing Oxford businesses that are leaving their current buildings and moving into the Legacy Center. He pointed out if those building owners had received abatements from the township, ‘maybe they could have lowered their rent? to convince their tenants to stay.
‘We’re just redistributing the wealth, which is not a government function,? he said.
Mills argued tax abatements are not subsidies. ‘I’m not asking you to subsidize me at all. I’m not asking you to take any money out of your wallet,? he said. ‘I’m asking you to not tax me on my additional investment.?
‘It’s not a subsidy. It’s just I don’t want to be penalized for investing in the community,? Mills noted.
Ferrari argued the jobs the Legacy Center is expected to generate are not the types for which abatements are typically given.
‘These are not high-paying jobs,? he said. ‘Usually, when abatements are thought of, you’re talking GM, Chrysler, (companies) that give executive-type jobs, $80,000-plus-bennies-type jobs. Not these type of jobs.?
Mills countered with, ‘This is not a sports center that just hires $5-an-hour guys.?
‘Every one of those businesses have to have managers,? he said. ‘You’re going to have some part-time people, but you’re (also) going to have some people who make six figures.?
Mills noted he’s looking to have some tenants at the Legacy Center related to the fields of medicine, counseling and therapy.
‘It’s going to bring a lot of high-paying jobs,? he said.
Ferrari argued there’s ‘complete transparency? and ‘accountability? when its comes to how property tax dollars collected for public purposes, such as funding the parks and recreation department, are spent versus the savings private businesses receive from abatements.
With public money, he said, ‘everybody knows where every penny went? and it’s ‘put directly back into the community for everyone to enjoy, not for a business owner to enjoy.?
Ferrari pointed out the township parks system is free for everyone to use whereas the Legacy Center would be a ‘pay to play? facility. Taking potential tax dollars away from the parks department and giving them to Legacy, in the form of an abatement, would ‘directly impact those that have lower incomes as they could not enjoy the benefits of a private business without paying,? he said.
When it comes to abatements, Ferrari noted there are no guarantees as to how the savings will be used by businesses.
‘There are promises and I’m happy to hear them,? but there’s ‘no direct accountability, no transparency,? Ferrari said. ‘We have no idea where the money went. It could have gone into investment in the building, employees, another business (or) anything else that you so choose. Just because something’s being promised doesn’t mean that’s what’s going to happen.?
To Mills, it’s not fair to single out abatements for criticism because ‘there’s no accountability? when it comes to how any business anywhere utilizes the savings derived from the wide array of tax benefits currently available, from the depreciation of tangible (or fixed) assets to write-offs for meals and entertainment.
‘The incentive is to grow your business,? he said.
As for the concern over tax dollars, Mills noted the Legacy Center will provide Oxford with a community center and it won’t cost the taxpayers anything to build it.
‘The community doesn’t have to bear a $20 million expense to have a community center,? said Mills, referring to the community center bond proposal Oxford voters rejected 2,432-to-1,544 last year.
Mills pointed out with the privately-owned Legacy Center, he’s assuming all the risk, unlike a publicly-financed facility where the residents would be forced to pay regardless of whether it succeeded or failed.
‘If it’s successful, you’ve paid for it with your taxes,? he said. ‘If it’s not successful, then you’re still paying for it for (25) years and you have to continually dig it out of a hole.?
Ferrari said the township board must be careful to preserve its tax base given the Michigan state legislature passed a road-funding plan last week that calls for shifting $600 million from the state’s general fund to the transportation fund beginning in 2020.
‘If anyone thinks this shift will not impact local government, (they’re) mistaken,? he said. ‘That’s a large chunk of money to come up with. We should be doing the prudent thing in protecting our tax base, so that we don’t have to go back to the voters and ask for more monies because we have chosen to give away future revenues.?