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Resident urges caution on state incentives for data centers, warns of limited local hiring
Summary
A Warrick County resident told commissioners he is concerned state incentives for data centers benefit out-of-area workers more than local people, citing past experience with a large power-plant project.
During public comment at the Feb. 9 meeting, resident Barton Heath criticized state incentives that entice large data centers and argued the promised local-job benefits often don't materialize for area residents. Heath recounted his experience with the Rockport power plant and said the skilled and management jobs were largely filled by people from outside the county.
"I don't feel like they need to be enticed to come to our neighborhood and leave us in poverty," Heath said, adding that early promises of hundreds of local jobs frequently result in a small number of local hires for higher-skilled positions and large numbers of non-local workers filling other roles. A commissioner responded that there is not an imminent project in the county and that, to date, a consultant has only asked about how the county might operate if a project were proposed.
Heath urged the county to prioritize projects that "invest in our people" and produce long-term benefits for residents.
What happens next: No board action was taken; commissioners noted public concern and clarified there was no active data-center project before the county.
