City Council Approves Tax Abatement April 16, 2020 Report The Huntington City Council, during their meeting on April 14, unanimously approved an abatement of business personal property tax liabilities for medical device manufacturer Incipio Devices, in support of the Company's investment of $14.2 million to expand in Huntington. "Generally, incentives are offered to encourage new investments which might not otherwise have taken place within a Community," said Mark Wickersham, executive director of the Huntington County Economic Development Corporation (HCUED). "They are incentives to encourage decisions, not rewards for activities which would have occurred anyway. Our elected officials have offered incentives very, very carefully during my tenure at HCUED. For every $1 dollar of local incentives offered, private sector investors spent $62.50 of their own capital. I believe our elected officials have done an excellent job supporting our industrial base through these programs," Wickersham added. Tax abatement is an incentive used in order to phase-in property tax liabilities as companies invest, expand and create new jobs. Abatements do not reflect any disbursement of "cash" from the taxpayers but instead function as a way to "gradually phase-in" over a period of time, the new tax liability a company incurs as it makes new investments. The process does not change any previously existing tax liabilities for the applicant nor does the approval create any benefit to the company if the company chooses not to invest. Tax abatement is by definition a "performance-based incentive." Huntington-based Incipio Devices announced earlier this year the acquisition of the former UTEC building in Huntington's Riverfork Industrial Park. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered the Company performance-based incentives from the State of Indiana with the hope the City of Huntington would also offer local support. The unanimous vote by the City's Common Council, allows the company to move forward with plans to create 52 new jobs and retain 81 existing positions. The average hourly wage for the new positions is estimated to be $24.79 per hour. According to the Statement of Benefits Form (SB-1) filed with the City by Company Owner, Troy Johnson, the estimated completion date for the expansion is anticipated by April of 2024. "On behalf of our Board of Directors and the Community, it's my honor to offer congratulations and thanks to the team at Incipio Devices," Wickersham concluded.