City Council punts on tax exemption

St. Mary Parish President David Hanagriff and Director of Economic Development Frank Fink proposed a resolution to the Franklin City Council Tuesday that would change the process by which the parish implements its Industrial Tax Exemption Program.
The changes proposed would “fast-track” the approval process by granting authority of parish application approval to the parish president rather than requiring prospective companies to address each and every taxing body in the parish for said approval.
Fink said of the proposal, “In an effort to provide local input for the process, we are trying to make it a simpler process for manufactures to come here…we’re offering you an opportunity here to have some control, and let the process be simplified.”
The proposed resolution would act as a blanket resolution with two caveats. The first would require the economic development director to provide a cost/benefit analysis on prospective companies; and the second, would involve the parish president presenting the company’s approved profile to an appointed local designee who would be chosen by the mayor. Once accepted by all parish designees, the parish president would send the application on to the state level.
Fink pointed to other parishes who have already implemented such a change to their ITEP processes, as success stories—Baton Rouge being one.
The contrasting implications were posed as, “Loss of direct, indirect and induced jobs, loss of sales tax collections and loss of population growth,” as reportedly, most site consultants for prospective companies would steer their clients toward parishes with more streamlined processes.
Councilman Eugene Foulcard expressed trepidation following the proposal that a vote to approve the resolution be made that same evening.
Foulcard stated that he believed the resolution could be beneficial. However, he wanted to reach out to the other parish governmental entities which had already passed the resolution, or were intending to pass it, before passing it, there.
Mayor Raymond Harris concurred with Foulcard, saying to Hanagriff, “My fear is that you are going to do what’s best for the parish, and not what’s best for us. What we are losing here is the right to speak for ourselves. We’re losing the right to represent ourselves, and I don’t believe that is what the people elected the council and the mayor for.”
Hanagriff persisted that this was not a “power grab,” and that all the mayor would need to do in a situation of negative compatibility, would be to go before the council and have the proposed application voted down. Though, the council was by then, unmoved.
The resolution was tabled pending further review, and is set to be added to next month’s council meeting agenda.