After lengthy discussion Monday night, Warsaw City Council tabled a request for a tax abatement filing extension waiver for BDI Engineering Inc.
Steve Snyder, Syracuse attorney, representing BDI Engineering Inc., spoke for an hour about why the business qualifies for a tax abatement filing waiver.If approved, the waiver would allow BDI to file a late request for the 2008 tax abatement that would be payable this year.
BDI Engineering Inc., 4130 Corridor Drive, Warsaw, where LRC Products was located, is requesting a tax abatement waiver for seven years. That is the remaining time of LRC's original 10-year tax abatement request, of which they had used three years during the time they were in business.
The council reviewed a resolution Monday that stated BDI Engineering Inc. failed to timely file forms CF-1/PP, CF-1/RE and Forms 322ERA and 103-ERA in 2009.
"We don't need a resolution that says you approve BDI as successors, we need a resolution to prove the filing of the forms," Snyder said.
BDI Engineering are successors to LRC Products, and are requesting to continue a seven-year tax abatement on real estate and personal property.
Snyder said LRC Products had gone out of business after the tax abatement was obtained. BDI Engineering Inc. has since purchased the property.
"The waiver statute states the city has the right to waive the filing deadline for a tax abatement if we show we are the successor dealing with forms that have been filed," Snyder said.
Snyder said during the meeting that he and City Attorney Mike Valentine agreed that BDI does qualify for the tax abatement waiver.
Snyder requested for the the waiver of the tax abatement deadline to file the forms for the tax abatement.
Kristy Mayer, county assessors office, said even though the tax abatement forms have been filed the only CF-1 forms she has are for 2009 pay 2010. She does not have a CF-1 form for 2008 pay 2009.
She said the deadline for filing for 2008 pay 2009 was May 15, 2008.
Snyder said when he drafted the tax abatement resolution, the intent was for the petitioner to file any additional forms required by the auditor or assessor.
Snyder said BDI Engineering Inc. has put in more personal property than what was there when LRC Products Inc. set up its operation.
Snyder also said BDI is in compliance with hiring projections made in the SB-1 forms.
According to the forms, LRC projected hiring 27 additional employees, and BDI projected hiring 51 additional employees in the tax abatement application.
"By the end of the 10-year tax abatement, we will be in significant excess of all aspects of real estate, personal improvements, and personal property investments," Snyder said.
He said that is why he thinks BDI qualifies for continuation of its tax abatement because the abatement that was granted will be met much earlier than LRC would have.
Council President Joe Thallemer and councilmen George Clemens, Jeff Grose, Dan Hampton, and Jerry Patterson said they did not have a problem with approving the tax abatement.
The council tabled approving the waiver to allow the petitioner to meet with the assessors office to make sure correct filings were made for the appropriate years.
