County officials say data centers can boost tax revenue but bring few long‑term jobs; emphasize siting and PILOT terms
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Summary
LaPorte County leaders told residents data centers are attractive for tax revenue but typically generate most jobs during construction; officials opposed blanket abatements and said they will push for proper siting and fair payments-in-lieu-of-taxes.
LaPorte County leaders and residents debated data centers, annexation and local benefits at a League of Women Voters forum, with officials saying the projects can deliver substantial tax revenue but relatively few permanent jobs.
"Data centers, for lack of a better term, are a very, very good tax based building tool," said Commissioner Steve Holofield, noting the county's utilities, fiber and aquifer make northwest Indiana attractive to large server facilities. Holofield added that any agreement should avoid open-ended tax abatements and consider payment‑in‑lieu‑of‑taxes (PILOT) or other upfront cash arrangements to ensure community benefit.
Adam Kuronka, president of the county council, said most employment is during construction and that operational staffing is small. "By my best estimate, it's probably gonna have maybe 150 jobs," Kuronka said of a very large facility, underscoring the ‘‘dense land, low staff’’ nature of the industry. Panelists contrasted construction‑phase hiring (hundreds of trade workers) with long‑term employment of a few dozen to a few hundred maintenance, security and IT roles.
Speakers also discussed annexation: if a project is annexed into a city, allocation formulas change, and county leaders said they will negotiate to preserve a county share of the benefits. Holofield cited an example in Hammond where a company paid for new fire trucks for stations as one type of negotiated community benefit.
Several residents raised calls to protect farmland and to prefer brownfields or industrial parks such as Kingsbury Industrial Park for heavy industrial uses. Panelists encouraged careful siting and regulation to limit noise, water use and other community impacts.
Panelists said they prefer to secure benefits through clear agreements rather than conceding long-term tax exemptions. They urged residents to watch ordinance proposals and planning hearings if data-center projects are proposed locally.
Next steps: county officials said they will coordinate with cities on annexation, seek appropriate PILOT or contractual protections and ask legal counsel to clarify what conditions are allowed under state law.
