Council approves seven-year tax abatement for Lions Head Specialty Tire and Wheel

The Paris City Council voted on Jan. 27 to approve a tax abatement agreement intended to support Lions Head Specialty Tire and Wheel’s planned manufacturing and warehousing project in the Northwest Business Park.

City staff presented the agreement and said the company’s improvements were initially estimated at $5.4 million in the publicly posted notice but the company later revised that estimate to roughly $6.0–$8.2 million. The proposed package included a transfer of approximately 19.58 acres of land and cash-for-jobs incentives; staff said the land value shown in the contract is about $400,000 and additional cash incentives will be specified in the final agreement.

Under the approved resolution the abatement runs seven years on a deescalating schedule: 100% in years 1–2, 75% in years 3–4, 50% in years 5–6 and 25% in year 7. Staff told council the company is expected to create 18 full-time-equivalent positions on a three-year hiring schedule (about 10 by June 2021, five more the following year and three thereafter, per the contract language presented).

Council members asked questions about ambiguous contract language—specifically why the contract included a range for capital investment ("no less than $6,000,000 and up to $8,200,000") and how the job-creation schedule reads in the document. The city attorney and staff said they would review and clarify contract language before final signatures.

The resolution authorizes the city to enter into the abatement in substantial conformance with the attached agreement; council approved the measure during the meeting after the public hearing requirement was met.