VANDERBURGH COUNTY — The county council accepted the annual tax phase‑in compliance report from the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership and approved compliance determinations for 14 companies, while asking one firm with limited progress to return with additional information.

Pat Hickey, director of economic development at the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership, told the council the office conducts annual compliance checks against each company’s SB1 Statement of Benefits and that compliance generally requires reaching 90% of stated goals in jobs, property, or wages. Hickey said the 14 companies under review “are doing what they said they would” overall and that wages averaged “about $25 an hour.”

Council members pressed for clarifications about individual companies. Council member James asked why Crosspointe Polymer (referred to as S J I P Crosspointe Polymer in materials) showed only 2% completion on some measures and noted the company had three years to begin work under its Economic Revitalization Area (ERA) designation. Hickey said Crosspointe had recently begun and that the office would follow up with auditors and the company. The council moved, seconded and approved a motion to find the listed companies in substantial compliance and separately passed a motion asking Crosspointe Polymer to return with an explanatory update.

Council debate also covered how the tax‑phase rubric is applied. Several members discussed the historical emphasis on job creation in the scoring matrix and noted that in recent years capital investment and property-related points have been more heavily weighted for certain projects. Pat Hickey and others confirmed the county currently uses the existing rubric but said stakeholders have been discussing potential updates; no formal changes to the rubric were approved at the meeting.

Actions recorded in the meeting included a motion to certify compliance for companies including RJ Properties, SEC Holdings, Torsion Group, Wabash Plastics, FedEx and others; a separate motion asked Crosspointe Polymer to appear with further explanation. Both motions passed (the compliance motion passed by roll call; the Crosspointe follow‑up passed by voice vote). Council members asked ERAP staff to provide the tax‑phase rubric and additional information on the timeline and phases for companies granted ERAs.

Pat Hickey told the council the ERAP team performs compliance checks January through June and recommends continued deductions where firms can show valid reasons for shortfalls; in one example a firm that missed a target provided a letter of explanation and was recommended to continue receiving deductions.

The council’s actions keep the current compliance determinations in place while requesting more information from the company with the lowest progress rate.