It was standing room only on the second floor of the Oscar Dancy Building and despite passionate arguments made by many residents against granting the company tax abatements, the company got them by a 3-2 vote.
Voting for the abatements were Pct. 2 commissioner Joey Lopez, who made the motion to approve, Pct. 4 commissioner Gus Ruiz, who seconded it, and Pct. 1 commissioner Sofia Benavides who cast the deciding vote.
The company was asking for a two-stage abatement of $2.5 million now and another $2.5 million at a later date.
At least 40 organizations, public officials and local businesses signed a letter to Cameron County Commissioners telling them to vote against the abatement request.
Annova LNG is one of three companies that want to build liquefied natural gas terminals at the Port of Brownsville and are awaiting approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
At the Aug. 20 meeting, protestors said that a tax abatement for Annova made no sense, since the company already wants to come here and doesn’t need to be lured by a multi-million dollar tax break.
By far, the majority of those attending spoke out against granting Anova LNG a 10-year tax abatement on the $3.5 billion liquefied natural gas plant which would carry a property tax value of $1.8 billion.
Exelon, the Fortune 500 company with a 96% stake in the project, has requested the tax break from the county to build the fracked-gas export facility in the Rio Grande Valley. The decision was tabled during the August 20 meeting.
In January, the county commissioners laid out the requirements for the granting of a tax abatement application for manufacturers and businesses in the county. Some of the speakers warned the court of potential industrial accidents and explosions that have occurred in other places where the plants have been built and voiced their environmental concerns.
This was the second time Cameron County will have given away a tax abatement to an LNG company. In 2017, the County approved a $373 million tax cut for NextDecade’s proposed Rio Grande LNG project. The Chapter 312 agreement guarantees an unknown number of permanent jobs for people who have lived within a 100-mile radius of the LNG terminal for six months prior to being hired or born within that radius.
This was the second time Cameron County will have given away a tax abatement to an LNG company. In 2017, the County approved a $373 million tax cut for NextDecade’s proposed Rio Grande LNG project. The Chapter 312 agreement guarantees an unknown number of permanent jobs for people who have lived within a 100-mile radius of the LNG terminal for six months prior to being hired or born within that radius.
Annova LNG was also vying for a tax abatement under Chapter 313 from the Point Isabel Independent School District (ISD), which was completely rejected because of local opposition. (A Chapter 313 tax abatement is granted through a school district, but a big difference between a school district’s tax abatement and a county’s abatement is that the State of Texas reimburses the ISD for lost revenue.)
Some speakers said that the billionaire projects did not need the county giving out special consideration for these massive projects because they came her and have nowhere else to go. They also said that the number of permanent jobs did not merit the massive tax break over 10 years.
Under the guidelines approved by the court, Anova will generate points depending on the number of jobs, the quality of wages, and the timeline that applicants must meet to qualify for the abatements.)
Some speakers said that the billionaire projects did not need the county giving out special consideration for these massive projects because they came her and have nowhere else to go. They also said that the number of permanent jobs did not merit the massive tax break over 10 years.
Under the guidelines approved by the court, Anova will generate points depending on the number of jobs, the quality of wages, and the timeline that applicants must meet to qualify for the abatements.)