The Finance Committee of the Fort Wayne City Council recommended terminating multiple mid-sized businesses’ tax abatement agreements on Tuesday.
The committee went through its annual review of tax abatement agreements the city reaches with businesses to help recruit them to move to Fort Wayne. The review is to make sure the businesses are holding up their ends of the deal, which generally means they are creating a certain number of jobs or paying their employees a certain salary level.
After a review process, nine businesses were found to not be in compliance with their abatement agreements. Tuesday was their opportunity to plead their cases to the Finance Committee.
Of hose nine, the Finance Committee recommended terminating the abatement agreements with Hoffmaster, a foodservice disposable producer, Accugear, an automotive supplier, Applied Metals & Machineworks, a metalworks company, LH Carbide, an appliances and electronics manufacturer, and Paul A. Walters International, a home and entertainment products manufacturer.
The committee voted to keep the other five abatements in place to give them more time to recover from COVID, changing economic conditions or to get their business going. Republican Second District City Councilman Russ Jehl said the committee had a balancing act to maintain in making these decisions.
“If we are too hasty in pulling this, it would actually hurt (Greater Fort Wayne)’s ability to recruit other similar businesses,” Jehl said.
The recommendations from the Finance Committee will get a full council vote at a later date.
