PRINCETON—Gibson County Commissioners Tuesday endorsed a proposal from Gibson County Economic Development Corp. that would designate 181 square miles of the county as an economic development area.
GCEDC Executive Director Todd Mosby told commissioners that while the county has “many positive things going for us,” the organization’s vision is to continue to prepare for growth and “strategically plot out what our county needs to do to grow our businesses and population.”
The expansion proposal goes to the Gibson County Redevelopment Commission next month for consideration and possible public hearings.
In 2013, the commission approved a 73.4 square mile corridor along Interstate 69 as an economic development area.
The new proposal expands the existing Toyota (Patoka-Union Twp.) and the Gibson County Coal (Montgomery Twp.) Economic Development Areas (EDAs) to include nearly 116,000 acres of land.
The designation, which must be approved following public hearings, could pave the way for Tax Increment Finance districts in areas where infrastructure is needed for development.
It doesn’t include municipalities, and excludes some primarily agricultural property.
The redevelopment commission would still need to consider when or if a TIF district is needed for potential development incentives.
TIF districts capture assessed valuation and use some of the property tax revenue paid by a company developing in that district to fund infrastructure or other projects that benefit the district.
A study of the I-69 economic development area’s infrastructure needs at interchanges with Ind. 68, Ind. 168 and Ind. 64 is nearing completion, but no move to create a TIF district for that area has been introduced yet.
Mosby told commissioners Tuesday that the proposed expansion is part of a strategic plan to be prepared for economic growth. He said the county has healthy manufacturing employment and salaries, and ranks low in average property taxes, but the county needs to develop infrastructure (roads, water, sewer, broadband) to be more successful in the future.
He reported 36.7 percent of the county’s labor force of 18,390 people work in manufacturing, ranking 69th best among 3,141 counties in the nation. Manufacturing wages average $62,891 in Gibson County, 313th best of all the counties in the U.S., 10th best in the state.
The county’s ag, energy and manufacturing industries pay an average median wage of $46,615, which ranks 313th of all the counties in the nation. Local mining jobs pay an average wage of $85,291, top in the state, while professional and technical service jobs average $62,240, ranking fourth in the state. Agriculture, construction, retail, administrative and waste service jobs all rank in the top 20 in Indiana, he reported.
With a strong manufacturing base, the county has about 7 million square feet of manufacturing and warehousing space, but there are only four buildings available on the market. Of those four, Mosby said he thinks the largest building won’t be on the market long.
The county’s home ownership rate is 77.6 percent, higher than the state average, with a median household income about $2,500 higher than the state average. Property taxes in Gibson County average $816, which is 2,061 lowest among the nation’s 3,141 counties. “To put that in perspective, in Hamilton County (otherwise known as Carmel), their average real estate property taxes are $2,274, which is 332nd highest in the U.S.,” he reported.
He said that designating the land for economic development won’t raise property taxes.”A property owner in this expanded Economic Development Area will not pay one cent more because of expanding the area,” Mosby promised. “When, and only when a development considers Gibson County, will we possibly act — but only if it is necessary to capture the new tax dollars by creating a new TIF district or expanding the current TIF. In that scenario, again, the property owners of the township will not see an increase in their taxes from expanding this area. This tool is one of the best tools we have available to us when competing for investment and jobs and expanding our infrastructure,” he told commissioners.