The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 Thursday for a resolution to grant a fee-in-lieu of taxes agreement between the county and Southern Cross.
Golden Triangle Development LINK Chief Operations Officer Joey Deason presented the request on behalf of the company, which plans to build a $1.4 billion extension of its wind energy transmission lines from Louisiana to Alabama. Approximately half of the funds would be spent in Mississippi, including up to $350 million in Lowndes County.
Deason said the fee-in-lieu agreement is contingent upon Southern Cross obtaining the necessary permits to complete the project and would require the company to build one of two planned converter stations in Lowndes County.
“It is also based on a minimum $250 million investment in the county,” Deason told supervisors. “But it could go up to $350 million.”
Deason said a $250 million investment would generate annual ad valorem taxes of $1.5 million for the county’s general fund and $1.8 million for the county school district. A $350 million investment would produce tax revenue of $2.1 million for the county and $2.5 million for the schools.
A fee-in-lieu agreement would allow the company to pay no less than one-third of the ad valorem value for 10 years. After that, Southern Cross would be responsible for paying the full tax burden.
The actual amount of the fees would be calculated by county Tax Assessor Greg Andrews once all agreements and permits have been obtained. Company officials hope to submit its proposal to the Public Service Commission, which regulates Mississippi utilities, by the end of the year.
During a Nov. 28 meeting with The Dispatch editorial board, Brandon Presley, Northern District commissioner for PSC, said his support for the project relied on several conditions, among them a requirement that the company pay its full share of taxes.
“If the county board of supervisors wants to give an exemption, that’s one thing,” Presley told The Dispatch. “But don’t come and sell it to us that we’re going to create all this taxable income when you’re just going to go to local authorities and try to get it tax exempt.
“If you’re going to come through our state, you need to pay your fair share,” he added.
In that meeting, Presley said he had also heard the company might be considering building the converter station in west Alabama, calling that idea a “non-starter” if the company wanted his approval. Presley is the board chairman of the three-member PSC.
The supervisors’ action Thursday seemed to conflict with Presley’s “full taxes” criteria while helping solidify the “converter location” criteria.
Reached Thursday, Presley said while he had no input into supervisors’ decisions, he felt the stipulations placed on the potential fee-in-lieu agreement were strategically wise.
“From what I understand, the supervisors stood on principle to make sure the biggest investment portion had to be located in Lowndes County,” Presley said. “I think, all in all, it’s a pretty fair shake.
Supervisors also acted on another fee-in-lieu matter during Thursday’s meeting.
At the request of County Administrator Ralph Billingsley, supervisors unanimously approved transferring the existing fee-in-lieu agreements with Weyerhaeuser to International Paper, which completed the purchase of two Weyerhaeuser mills in the county on Dec. 1. The two mills were a part of a $2.2 billion deal that involved seven Weyerhaeuser facilities.
The terms of the fee-in-lieus are not affected by Thursday’s board action, Billingsley said.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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