Hamilton County Commissioners sign off on PILOT agreement

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Hamilton County Commissioners approved a payment in lieu of tax agreement with WNA American Plastics Industries for a $15 million expansion planned at the company's facility at 5930 Quintus Loop.

The company will now have to seek approval from the city of Chattanooga before appearing before the city's Industrial Development Board. The industrial board will have final say.

The expansion is expected to create 53 full-time jobs with average salaries of $33,000.

The proposed agreement will allow the company to be exempt from property tax on the expansion from 2014 to 2017. Instead the company will pay the city and county a percentage of what the tax would have been. After the four-year period, the company would start paying the full amount of property taxes. The agreement does not exempt the company from paying the school system's share of property taxes.

In the first year, the company would pay nothing to the city and county general funds. But for the next three years, it would pay 25 percent, 40 percent and 50 percent of what would have been its tax bill to the city and county each.