Washington Local adds to Chrysler deal

8/12/2004

DaimlerChrysler AG will get a sweeter package of tax incentives than what most firms receive from Washington Local Schools in return for the firm's decision to have new factories built at the Toledo Jeep complex.

The school board last night voted 4-0, with one abstention, to modify two tax-sharing agreements that together allow the company to reduce real estate taxes on the project.

The resolutions apply to the only building in the project that will be constructed in the school district. The structure has an estimated value of $17 million, with machinery and equipment totaling about $220 million.

DaimlerChrysler announced the project last week. Two German firms and one South Korean company will operate the factories.

In the resolution on tax abatement with DaimlerChrysler, the district will receive an annual donation of about $1 million a year for 15 years beginning in 2008, or 35 percent of the taxes that would be paid on new machinery and equipment.

In the resolution on tax increment financing, Washington Local will receive an estimated $88,000 a year for 30 years, or 25 percent of the property taxes on the project. The remaining 75 percent will be applied by the city of Toledo toward the project's infrastructure improvements.

Board president Lisa Canales-Flores abstained in voting. She is an employee of the City of Toledo.