By Howard Packowitz
NORMAL – Unit 5 school board members were less than enthusiastic Monday, but decided to sign off on a deal providing tax incentives for a Canadian agricultural equipment firm to build its first U.S. manufacturing plant in McLean County.
Unit 5 is the first of seven taxing bodies to approve the deal. The board’s vote was five-to-two with members Taunia Leffler and David Fortner voting no.
Brandt Industries promises to hire at least 50 full-time workers the first year and at least 300 by the seventh year, or else the company won’t be eligible for the abatement.
Brandt plans to buy the Kongskilde plant between Normal and Hudson to make attachments for John Deere tractors.
The entire board expressed displeasure at having to act quickly or else the deal might fall apart.
Joseph Cleary reluctantly voted yes.
“I really don’t like this deal. I don’t know how many times I can say I don’t like this deal, but I’m going to have to back the administration on this,” said Cleary.
Superintendent Mark Daniel said more jobs boost enrollment and state aid, under Illinois’ new school funding formula.
“I look at this as job generation, I look at this as how you continue to grow in a community, and I look at this as students enrolling,” Daniel said.
“Bottom line, I don’t want our community to be one of the school districts where we decline and decline and decline, and our services decline and decline, because we don’t have people employed bringing new revenue to our community,” said board member Meta Mickens-Baker.
The property’s assessed value is $80,000.
Taxing districts would cut Brandt’s tax bill by half the first two years, with a full abatement the following three years.
However, the company agrees to make in-kind donations to Unit 5 and Heartland Community College.
The Heartland Board of Trustees votes on the deal next week.
Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]
