Redevelopment commission approves Barnes & Thornburg engagement for Prometheus funding; allocation area and state tax changes remain unresolved

The Greene County Redevelopment Commission voted to approve an engagement letter with Barnes & Thornburg to provide legal services tied to the Prometheus development and related financing arrangements, the commission said during its meeting.

The engagement letter, which commissioners approved by voice vote, does not list hourly rates or a fixed fee; county officials said Barnes & Thornburg will staff matters with differing attorneys and assistants as needed. "We don't have to pay it," Rich Starkey, attorney with Barnes & Thornburg, said during the meeting, adding the firm has worked with the county before and that the county will attempt to shift fees to the developer where contracts allow.

Why it matters: The legal work supports a financing structure that relies on a new tax increment financing (TIF) allocation area and a bond-like pledge of future tax increment. If approved, the arrangement would allow the Redevelopment Commission to receive incremental tax allocation from new commercial and industrial development inside the defined allocation area and pledge that increment to repay debt issued to support infrastructure and other incentives for Prometheus and related projects.

Commissioners and staff described the financing as a creation bond arrangement — a mechanism that provides assurance to Prometheus that the Redevelopment Commission will remit the shared allocation from taxes the board commits to the project. Marvin (no last name provided) and Rich Starkey said it is common for developers, not local commissions, to pay legal and issuance fees; however, commissioners noted the fee-shifting arrangement has not yet been finalized with Prometheus representatives.

The commission did not adopt the new allocation area at this meeting. Jim (no last name provided) described the planned allocation area's boundaries in detail and said the initial proposal will be broad: roughly from Antioch Road down to Harvest Church, along 231 to Olive Branch Road, east to East Stone Road, then north to Antioch Road. Staff said the broad footprint is intentional to include potentially developable land and to clarify up front which parcels would be in the district; a map and draft boundary language will be circulated to commissioners ahead of the next meeting.

State tax changes: Commissioners flagged uncertainty from a recently enacted state bill that they said could reduce business personal property taxes. "701 is a 346 page document that was passed earlier this week and signed by the governor," Jim said; staff and counsel said they are still reviewing the law’s text and its impacts. Commissioners explained that if business personal property tax is reduced inside the allocation area, the taxable base from which TIF is captured would fall, shrinking the amount available for any securities or reimbursement to Prometheus. Officials said one scenario under review would raise a $1,000,000 exemption for business personal property and could eliminate the previously applied 30% floor over time, but that the legal and fiscal details remain under analysis.

Next steps: Staff said they will circulate proposed allocation-area language, a boundary map and the list of affected parcels before the next meeting. The commission also plans an annual entity meeting next month to invite impacted taxing units to ask questions; commissioners said they must notify the county auditor and the state of any retention-of-increment decision by June 15 to set assessment factors for 2026.

Commission action: The commission approved the engagement letter with Barnes & Thornburg by voice vote after a motion; the motion was seconded and recorded as passing. Commissioners did not finalize the allocation area or issue any financing at this meeting.

Where the record came from: Commissioners discussed the engagement letter, the bond-like financing mechanism, allocation-area boundaries, and the newly signed state law in the meeting transcript. Staff and counsel said additional analysis on the law’s effects is expected next week and that the commission will continue work on the allocation area at the May meeting.