A Chattanooga panel is pressing for monthly updates on efforts to recoup $13 million in tax breaks that the city claims are due after the Alstom plant's new owner stopped manufacturing at the site.
Jimmy Rodgers, a city Industrial Development Board member, said Tuesday he'd like to see the issue kept on the panel's agenda "as an ongoing matter."
"I know there has been a lot of good quality jobs that were yanked out from under us with GE's purchase (of Alstom last year)," he said at a meeting of the group. "It ought to be an ongoing subject on the agenda until it is resolved."
James Miller, the board's chairman, said the issue will be put on the monthly agenda and there will be regular updates "so we can be more abreast of it."
Last summer, GE Power said it was shutting down manufacturing in Chattanooga and cutting 235 jobs by the end of 2016 after its earlier purchase of Alstom's power assets. The property tax breaks were awarded nearly a decade ago when Alstom announced a $300 million expansion.
On Nov. 30, an attorney representing the city gave GE two options - pay the $13 million or give it equipment in the plant worth that amount.
Helen Burns Sharp, the founder of the citizens group Accountability for Taxpayer Money (ATM), said the money could be used for priorities such as public safety, streets and job training. Sharp said a recent online auction of equipment at the plant shows that 1,114 items were sold by The Branford Group, which conducted the auction.
"Did the city and county take any action to keep the auction company from releasing money to GE for items sold until their obligation to city and county taxpayers has been met?" she asked.
City Attorney Wade Hinton said the city is "still in negotiations" with GE. He said after the meeting that he couldn't comment on how long the negotiations might take.
"We hope to get it resolved as soon as possible," Hinton said.
Rodgers said that while he knows the city attorney is on top of the matter, the issue is too important to depend on ATM to remind the board.
"I want to make sure we recover everything we can," he said.
ATM member Franklin McCallie said the group is "very concerned" about the Alstom matter.
"We hope you will do whatever diligence and have the staff and find where this $13 million is right now," he said.
Board member Jelena Butler said the option the city gave related to taking equipment in place of the money appears gone with the auction.
"That doesn't take away the responsibility of GE to pay it back," she said.
Miller said the city and Hamilton County are doing "everything to make sure we obtain" the $13 million sum.
"We're not letting anything drop between the cracks," he said.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.