County asks legislature for PILOT authority to stabilize data-center revenue

County Attorney John Dorris told legislators the county lacks clear authority to negotiate PILOTs for cloud or data-center personal property and asked for enabling language to allow pilot agreements for those uses. "We don't have the authority today to have a payment in lieu of tax agreement for a cloud computing or data center," Dorris said, adding that a PILOT can stabilize local revenue as equipment depreciates.

Dorris explained that, absent a PILOT, the personal property of a data center counts toward the state's wealth formula and can cause large year-to-year revenue swings; he said equipment typically depreciates 50% in the first year and about 10% annually thereafter, creating instability for budgeting. Commissioners emphasized the county wants to preserve as much local revenue as possible if data centers locate in Calvert and discussed negotiating pilot terms or developer-led agreements rather than placing all burden on taxpayers.

The discussion also touched on related tools such as long-term asset-management contracts and workforce/policy planning to accommodate large power- and infrastructure-intensive facilities. No statutory language was adopted at the meeting; the county will ask the delegation for enabling legislation and model provisions to allow negotiated PILOTs.