Published: August 25, 2008 10:41 pm      

County approves tax break policy

The Navarro County Commissioners Court approved the final step in its tax abatement policies Monday, laying the groundwork for all future tax abatements it considers.

Those abatements could include requests from the two gas-fired electric plants considering locating in Navarro County.

Monday’s action by the court was taken after the topic was discussed during the public forum time on the court’s agenda.

Vicky Prater, an outspoken opponent of the proposed plants, praised commissioners for creating the guidelines for considering abatements, though she does not favor granting abatements to the plants. She asked commissioners to sign a letter requesting the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) conduct pre-construction air monitoring in the county for the second plant to file, Navarro Energy Center. A similar letter was signed by commissioners for the Pin Oak project, the larger of the two plant to file.

Addressing pollution concerns, H.M. Davenport Jr., county judge, said information from TCEQ indicated “the plants would not significantly alter air quality in Navarro County.”

Davenport, commenting on a map of power plants in Texas he asked Prater to display, said that prevailing wind patterns carried pollution from “Big Brown” in Freestone County into Henderson County, not Navarro County. Lines from the various plant locations in central Texas were drawn to a center point in Navarro County.

“That (pollution) is not all sucking into Corsicana,” he added.

Another opponent of the plants, Diana Rawlins, urged commissioners to consider more than just an increase in the county’s tax base when making their decision.

“The issue is not just money ... it’s the least of it ... the issue is pollution,” she said. Rawlins claimed some businesses considering locating in Navarro County would chose not to do so if the power plants were to build here.

“You have to look at how you want to develop this county,” she added.

Bret Latta, a captain in the sheriff’s department, spoke of his department’s inability to pay competitive salaries to employees, and the possible positive impact on the tax base, and eventually available revenue, of the plants.

“We’re becoming a training ground for jailers, communicators and deputies,” who move to higher paying jobs in surrounding counties, he said. Latta told of two recent departures from the sheriff’s department to higher paying jobs in Kaufman County.

Addressing pollution concerns, Davenport said information from TCEQ he’s seen indicated “the plants would not significantly alter air quality in Navarro County.”

Public hearings on reinvestment zones for the two plants are on the court’s agenda in a special called meeting at 6 p.m. Sept. 2 at the courthouse. Creation of the reinvestment zones is the next step in the possible granting of tax abatements to the two proposed plants.

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Bob Belcher may be reached via e-mail at belcher@corsicanadailysun.com