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Columbus City Council approves tax abatement for Cummins expansion at Ollie facility
Summary
The council approved a modified SB 1 timeline and a tax abatement to support a planned $70 million expansion at Cummins’ Ollie testing facility; the company projects roughly $7 million in net new city taxes over 10 years and seven new jobs tied to the project timeline modification.
The Columbus City Council on April 15 approved a tax abatement and a minor modification to the company’s SB 1 application to support Cummins’ planned expansion of its Ollie testing facility in Columbus.
Cummins representatives told the council the project is a $50,000,000 investment in real property and a $20,000,000 investment in personal property. “This is a $50,000,000 investment in real property, and a $20,000,000 investment in personal property, which essentially will save the company approximately 6,260,000.00 in taxes,” Rob Jones, the project leader, said. Jones said the real-property investment would produce about $6,380,000 in net new city taxes and the personal-property investment would yield roughly $700,000 in net new city taxes, for about $7,000,000 in new taxes to the city over 10 years.
City staff and company presenters described the work as R&D and testing capacity: product development and testing of advanced powertrains, including engines, transmissions and hybrid systems powered by diesel, natural gas, gasoline, hydrogen and battery-hybrid systems. Ted McLean, director of operations at the Cummins Tech Center, said the Ollie facility is operating at capacity and expansion would allow Cummins to centralize testing and leverage local skilled labor.
Before voting on the abatement itself, the council approved a motion to accept a minor modification to the SB 1 application adjusting the timing for hiring seven new employees. Councilor Tom Dell moved the modification, and the motion passed on a recorded call in which multiple councilors voted "Aye." One councilor identified themselves as employed by Cummins and said they would abstain from the vote.
After the SB 1 modification passed, councilors voted to approve the tax abatement resolution presented at the meeting. Councilors voiced appreciation for Cummins’ continued investment in Columbus during brief remarks.
The council record and the company’s presentation show Cummins plans new equipment including a heavy-duty chassis dynamometer, an advanced test cell with upgraded power, and energy-efficiency measures such as a geothermal wheel system. Company representatives said the expansion is designed for future additional testing capability.
No rezoning or land-use change was proposed as part of the abatement; the action before council was limited to the tax abatement and the SB 1 timing modification. The council did not adopt any additional conditions beyond the SB 1 modification recorded in the meeting.
Votes at a glance: the SB 1 timing modification and the tax abatement resolution both passed; a council member who said they work at Cummins announced an abstention on the SB 1 vote.
The council packet submitted with the abatement application, including the amended application and presentation slides, was placed on file at the end of the discussion.
