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Deschutes commissioners consider 2-year extension to enterprise-zone tax break for Redmond 3D manufacturer
Summary
County staff presented a request to extend a Greater Redmond Area enterprise-zone property tax exemption for I3D Manufacturing from three years to five; commissioners moved and seconded approval but no roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript.
Deschutes County commissioners heard a request Monday to extend a Greater Redmond Area enterprise-zone property tax exemption for I3D Manufacturing, a Redmond company that makes metal 3D-printed components.
Steve Purley, director of Redmond economic development, told the board the company has 26 employees and expects to add about 20 more. Purley said the county’s portion of foregone property tax has not yet been calculated; he provided the city of Redmond’s estimate of about $48,000 annually on the company’s $26 million reported capital investment and said he would follow up with a county figure.
The request is for a two-year extension to the firm’s existing three-year exemption, making five consecutive years of exemption under the Greater Redmond Area Enterprise Zone arrangement. Purley said the company’s new hires would be “family wage” positions and that more than half of the added jobs would pay at or above the Deschutes County median wage.
During discussion, commissioners asked for transparent figures on the county’s portion of taxes being deferred and about how new higher wages would affect existing staff pay. Purley said the company’s wage structure typically requires parity for the same job classifications, meaning a rise in pay for new hires would tend to raise comparable existing wages.
A commissioner made a motion to approve document number 2025-620, described in the record as the agreement with the Greater Redmond Area Enterprise Zone sponsors to extend the property tax exemption for I3D Manufacturing to a total of five consecutive years; another commissioner seconded the motion. The transcript does not record a roll-call tally or the board’s final vote on that motion.
Board members and staff also discussed the project’s electricity use and regional transmission needs because the company uses high-powered lasers. Purley offered to arrange a tour of the Redmond facility for commissioners.
The record indicates the matter was slated for formal action; however, because no vote tally or outcome appears in the provided transcript excerpt, the article reports only the motion and related discussion.
