General Motors will come before the Orion Township Board of Trustees next week, but what they’ll be presenting remains a bit of a mystery.
Their presentation is part of an 8 p.m. public hearing set for the board’s Feb. 20 regular meeting.
The board agreed to put the issue on that agenda at their Feb. 5 meeting.
In a memo to the board, Clerk Jill Bastian wrote GM’s ‘request is for a new tax abatement for personal property improvements, specifically for machinery and equipment required to accommodate the production of a new product and improve the paint shop, in the amount of $55 million for 12 years plus three years construction??
The proposal is said to allow GM to retain 964 jobs and create 104 new jobs ‘within two years of completion,? according to the memo.
Bastian noted the application is for personal property only, not land or construction on new land.
GM also requests a decision by the township board by March 1, some 32 days after receipt of the Jan. 29 application, as opposed to the customary 60 days.
Bastian’s memo stated the ‘reasons for the request will be explained in greater detail at the hearing.?
‘They didn’t give us a lot of information,? Dywasuk said. ‘We’ve got to wait to see what happens. They will present their case.?
‘General Motors has been a good neighbor,? he added. ‘They’ve been involved in the community.?
Bastian said the two things still needing an explanation are the ‘new product? and the reason for the quick action from the board.
‘When they come to us, I told them they’ll have to have as much information as possible,? she noted.
GM last addressed the board in 2002, regarding a $235 million investment that first came up in August of 2001.
At that time, only two of the current seven board members were serving.
Bastian said the board’s relationship with GM has improved in recent years.
‘We figured, as a board, that getting 50-percent was better than getting nothing,? she said.
This $55 million project is much less than the last one, but still will get a lot of attention from the board.
‘That’s no small sum,? Dywasuk noted. ‘A typical abatement is 50-percent (of that).?
Bastian noted that the dollar figures could change, saying that much of the proposal was still in the planning stages at the time the application was submitted.
‘Some of those numbers could also change based on what the township said or what they say,? she said.
Dywasuk said he has heard a rumor that GM’s Malibu-line could be involved, but said that everyone outside of GM will ‘find out soon.?
‘It doesn’t appear to be controversial,? he added.