Commissioners hear public input on proposed tax abatement policy aimed at small businesses

Commissioners opened a public hearing on Aug. 12 to discuss a proposed Kendall County tax abatement policy intended to expand eligibility to smaller businesses and emphasize retention as well as recruitment.

Phil Hunke, part of the EDC team assembled to draft the policy, said the group benchmarked more than 30 similar counties and proposed lowering the minimum capital investment thresholds so small, local businesses could qualify. "The proposed policy would lower the minimal capital investment, which would would be required," Hunke said during his presentation. The draft contemplates shorter abatement periods (the group discussed five years in most cases instead of seven) and a lower capital outlay threshold for expansions to include smaller operators.

Commissioner Carpenter, who worked on the draft, said the intent is to provide a tool the county can use selectively: "This is a tool we don't necessarily have to use every time, but it gives the core incentive to work with businesses," he said. Several members of the public from Comfort urged caution: local business owners and appraisers described high commercial rents and empty storefronts and said abatements could help, while other residents warned that abatements reduce tax receipts and urged attention to county spending.

Jennifer Osteen, the county's new general counsel, told the court the draft looks generally sound but asked for more time to review statutory issues and items such as tax increment reinvestment zones, which she said may be outside the scope of a simple abatement policy. Commissioners agreed to treat the hearing as informational; any final policy will return to court for formal adoption or modification.

No vote on adoption was taken on Aug. 12; the court left the record open for follow‑up review and public feedback.