3/28/13 - Milford Township officials have delayed for several weeks a vote on a tax abatement request for General Motors' proposed new data center at the Milford Proving Ground. GM is asking for a 15-year, 50 percent tax cut for the $258 million project, which would construct a 93,000-square-foot information technology facility that would employ up to 20 people. The automaker wants to use that facility and one like it in Warren to house all of its data needs, allowing it to consolidate some 20 other facilities across the world. If taxed at the full rate, the new facility would generate nearly $6.5 million in annual revenue that would be split among various entities including Milford Township, schools, public safety agencies, county parks and libraries. However, if the proposed abatement were approved, that amount would be cut to approximately $3.24 million for the three years of expected construction and then twelve additional years afterward. The Milford Times says that Township Treasurer Cindy Dagenhardt indicated strong support for the abatement at a hearing on the issue last week, saying essentially half of something was better than all of nothing. But several trustees expressed doubts about the abatementâs promise of jobs and whether or not it was appropriate to take tax dollars out of the community and add them to GMâs profits. In the end, the board decided to delay a vote until its April meeting. (JK)
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