Carrier departure may mean tax hike
The county will have to raise taxes 5 cents to compensate for Carrier’s departure.
That’s the predicament local officials face as Warren County’s once-largest employer has halted production and is currently vacating its nearly 1-million-square-foot facility in Morrison.
Last year Carrier paid the county $381,728 in taxes. Of that total, $129,029 was for actual property, which is the building and land. That money will continue to be paid by the new property owners, P.R. Trading.
But $252,695 of that total was for personal property, which is a tax on the equipment in the building. Carrier had over $36 million in equipment, much of which is already gone. Once the equipment is removed completely, the county’s quarter of a million dollars in personal property tax will also leave town.
“That’s an issue we’re facing,” said County Executive Kenneth Rogers. “But we’re hoping by this time next year we’ll have something else in there to help make up some of that personal property tax.”
County commissioners have been reluctant to raise property taxes, opting instead to reduce services. The most recent budget, passed earlier this month, cut $212,000 from funding requests made by non-profit organizations.
Those reductions helped keep the property tax rate unchanged at $2.31. Cutting another $252,695 worth of services to avoid a tax increase next year may prove even more challenging. Each 1 cent on the tax rate generates $48,244.
“We can’t snap our fingers and make the money appear,” said Commissioner George Smartt, who chairs the Budget and Finance Committee. “We’re going to have to cut services or step up and raise taxes.”
Smartt pointed out other local businesses like Morrison Tool & Fab, WastAway and Superior Walls are gradually expanding and adding personal property. But all three combined likely won’t approach Carrier’s $36 million in equipment.
Smartt said county commissioners would have been wise to implement small tax increases of 3 or 4 cents a year to avoid what could be a substantial increase all at once. He said some commissioners have refused to discuss a tax increase no matter what.
“They’re bull-headed,” said Smartt. “But I think it’s like buying a 50,000-mile tire and saying you won’t buy another tire until it hits 50,000 miles. What happens if you have a blowout at 35,000 miles? Are you going to refuse to buy a new tire and ride around on a rim for 15,000 miles?”
Industrial jobs lost in Warren County over the past six years:
Company Jobs lost
• Carrier 1,300
• Findlay 500
• A.O. Smith 500*
• Aquatech 365
• DeZurik 295
• Powermatic 190
• Cookeville Tool & Mfg. 45
Total 3,195
* A.O. Smith is the only plant still in operation but has trimmed its workforce from 925 to around 425 current employees.