In the interest of attracting industrial business to Orion Township, the board of trustees voted June 21 to grant COBASYS, an industrial facility being installed in a building on property on Lapeer Road, a tax exemption.
COBASYS is leasing property from BKGE, Orion, LLC, and was granted a tax abatement by the township board on new personal property only, with a value of $4,396,102 for a period of 10 years, with an additional two years allowed for development of the new facility.
The board previously established an Industrial Development District for COBASYS at their May 17 meeting. Prior to voting on the tax abatement request, the board held a public hearing on June 21.
‘Tax abatements are only good for one thing,? said Miller Road resident Jim Delevan. ‘They make up for it by taxing the residents.
‘We own our own homes, we don’t get abatements,? he said. ‘I say to them, ‘Pay your own taxes.??
Lakewood Drive resident Matthew Gibb said he was ‘cautiously in support? of the abatement.
‘We’re trying to develop Brown Road in these types of (industrial) uses,? he said. ‘Is this something that could force Orion’s hand in the near future?
‘I think it’s a fair trade off to bring in these types of business (uses)…we have to attract them…but let’s make sure this does not set some type of precedent onset for the future,? he said.
According to a memo from the office of Governor Jennifer Granholm, assistance through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) helped make it possible for high tech manufacturers like COBASYS and Material Sciences Corporation to expand to Orion Township and Plymouth Township, respectively, creating 139 new jobs and a private investment of $19 million.
The memo said Single Business Tax (SBT) credits valued at more than $4.7 million had helped make the expansions to Michigan possible.
COBASYS will invest an estimated $1.5 million over the next two years to complete and office building and purchase new equipment as it consolidates three plants currently operating in Troy, to a single 70,000-square foot facility on at 3740 South Lapeer Road in Orion.
An SBT credit of more than $3.9 million helped convince COBASYS to expand in Michigan instead of a competing site in Ohio. The company designs, manufactures and sells Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery systems for the hybrid electric vehicle market.
The expansion in Orion is expected to create 50 new jobs in the first year, and a total of 150 within five years.
The governor’s memo said Orion Township was expected to approve a 50 percent abatement of COBASYS? personal property taxes valued at $92,000 for 12 years.
Orion Township Assessor John Attwell told the township board on June 21 that there would be no change in projected revenue for the Lapeer property, and that any equipment transferred in by COBASYS would not be eligible for a tax abatement.
Trustee Michael Gingell said because the township uses a point system for assessing each district for tax abatements, he did not believe this particular case would set a precedent.
‘I don’t believe we’re setting precedent outside of the system that already exists today,? he said.