Commissioners approve Western Morgan Economic Development Area after TIF briefing and public comment

The Morgan County Board of Commissioners voted 3-0 on June 15 to adopt Resolution 2026-6-15, establishing the Western Morgan Economic Development Area, a tool that will allow the county to capture future assessed-value growth as Tax Increment Financing (TIF) revenue for redevelopment projects.

Sam Schrader of Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors told the board that a TIF works by freezing a "base assessed value" for overlapping taxing units and capturing the incremental growth above that base for the Redevelopment Commission to spend on infrastructure, public safety capital, parks, and other redevelopment projects. He presented modeling comparing scenarios with and without a 10-year, 50% real property tax abatement, showing that the abatement scenario would forgo nearly $250,000 in net TIF revenue while the no-abatement scenario would forgo about $492,000 in TIF revenue but produce larger assessed-value growth overall.

"Capturing growth as TIF provides a substantially greater capacity to fund projects than allowing the increment to flow to taxing units," Schrader said in his presentation. He also explained that most school funding in Indiana flows from the state based on enrollment and that levy limits constrain new levy dollars from assessed-value growth.

Commissioner Bryan Collier, who disclosed he had signed a non-disclosure agreement in 2024 while negotiations with the data center were in early stages, framed the vote as a choice about how the county will fund the infrastructure needed to serve growth. "Growth in western Morgan County is inevitable given proximity to Indianapolis," Collier said, urging use of tools that avoid placing large bond-funded property-tax burdens on residents.

Public comment at the meeting included questions and concerns about the data center project tied to the EDA. Jason Whitlow asked who would be responsible for property taxes under the land-lease arrangement; the board confirmed the arrangement is a triple-net lease with Google paying property taxes. Neighbor and resident Jacob Deo raised environmental concerns about water usage and heat. Andy Tower urged the county to "be bold" and consider a formal revenue-sharing arrangement between the TIF and Monroe Gregg Schools; Commissioner Adams said Google had already donated approximately $185,000 to county public schools for technology programs and that conversations with the Monroe Gregg superintendent were ongoing.

After discussion and questions, Commissioner Mike Kirsch moved to approve the resolution; Commissioner Collier seconded and the motion carried 3-0. The resolution sets the EDA boundaries and establishes the tax allocation area that will generate TIF revenue. County staff and the Redevelopment Commission will follow up with implementation details and next steps.