[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Douglas McCulloch
Hometown Weekly Staff
The Walpole Board of Selectmen has approved the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) agreement between the town and Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics at a meeting on January 26.
As a part of Siemens’ proposed $300 million expansion project of its Coney Street facility, the company is asking the town of Walpole for a reduction in the property taxes on the value of the new expansion. The town is prepared to enter into a 20-year Tax Increment Financing (TIF) agreement with Siemens would grant those reductions pending town meeting approval.
The vote solidified the final details of the Tax Increment Financing agreement that will go to a town meeting vote on March 7. Siemens currently employs 700 people at its 500,000 square-foot facility.
The agreement, if approved by the town meeting, would grant Siemens a 90 percent reduction in the property taxes of the new expansion for the first five years, beginning in 2018. The tax reduction would drop by ten percent every five years before finishing at 60 percent for the final five years.
There were a number of changes made to the proposal that were reflected in the final TIF agreement. The total square footage of the new expansion has increased beyond what was initially estimated, to a total of 708,000 square feet, which includes several parking garages and support features such as a wellness center and locker facilities.
Siemens Senior Director of Strategic Projects Michael Canary explained that the company is working with conceptual designs this early in the project, meaning that estimates on the size of the new expansion can vary and are subject to change.
Although Siemens still hopes to create 700 new jobs in Walpole with the expansion, the agreement only stipulates that the company must create 400 new jobs.
Canary explained that the company has confidence that it will be able to create 700 jobs, but said Siemens did not feel comfortable committing to creating 700 new jobs.
“We believe that we are going to grow up to 700 plus jobs and we are designing our facility to support that, but to make that commitment and risk not delivering upon that commitment is something that is untenable for us,” Canary said.
In a press release, Selectman David Salvatore, who voted against moving forward with the TIF at the January 26 meeting, was skeptical of the new job requirements.
“The proponents have argued that the project would have significant economic impact due to the jobs created, even though only 32 current employees live in Walpole,” Salvatore said. “As of Tuesday night, that argument has gotten 42 percent weaker.”
The agreement does incorporate several components Selectmen and the public had previously asked about at public hearings and past Board of Selectmen meetings.
It calls for Siemens to take steps to hire local residents for the new jobs, including posting job listings at Walpole High and Norfolk Aggie, and to post job listings on the town website. The agreement also requires Siemens to make good faith efforts to hire local companies during construction.
The agreement spells out several consequences for failing to create the 400 new jobs within the initial portion of the term, which would result in a reduction of the tax breaks the company is set to receive.
The full text of the current TIF agreement can be viewed on the town’s website. For up to date information about the process, the town of Walpole has set up a special website, with detailed information about the proposal, viewable at walpole-ma.gov/siemens-expansion-information.
Douglas McCulloch is an editor at Hometown Weekly. He can be reached at news@hometownweekly.net and followed on Twitter at @doug_mcculloch.
