Industrial tax exemption is tabled

The proposed industrial tax exemption for the Cabot plant in Ville Platte was tabled by the Evangeline Parish Police Jury at its meeting held Monday, April 5.
The vote, along with additional public comments, will occur at a special meeting to be held Wednesday, April 14, at 5:30 p.m.
The main hold up for the vote was whether or not the exemption is for five years or 10 years.
Juror Eric Soileau said the jury has “vague answers” and does not have a “clear vision of what the extension looks like whether it comes back here or just goes to the state.”
He went on to say, “People are saying they can live with a five year exemption, but they can’t live with a 10 year.”
Rebecca Shirley, on behalf of One Acadiana, explained the exemption has always been understood to be for 10 years but truly is a five year exemption. If a company meets all the qualifications of the program and follows everything it needs to do over the first five years, then it can apply for a renewal for another five year exemption.
“When the rules were changed in 2018,” she said, “the state did not define what happens at that renewal point. We don’t have precedence to go back to because we haven’t had a renewal to come forward to the board yet for them to make a decision. The waters will be tested when those renewals come.”
Shirley suggested the police jury send a question about the issue to legal counsel of Louisiana Economic Development.
Before the vote to table the matter, the police jury heard comments from Cabot employees, Cabot Advisory Panel members, Evangeline Chamber of Commerce members, and other members of the public during a public hearing that spilled over into the executive committee meeting.
Most of the comments against the proposal came from Juror Bryan Vidrine, who said the exemption would negatively affect parish agencies such as the fire department, road districts, cemetery districts, 911, health unit, road districts, library, and elderly services as well as the police jury’s general fund.
“It’s very hard for us to make a decision on this when we know we have expenses that are unpaid as we speak,” Vidrine said. “We have to look out for the needs of our parish and our people.”
Cabot Facility Manager Derek Turner explained, regardless if the exemption is passed or not, no money will collected by the parish until the end of 2023. However, the parish will see $1.6 million in additional sales tax revenues over the next couple of years because of equipment purchases.
Turner said, “We’re trying to make this plant efficient. We do not have the latest technology. We are at a disadvantage in a couple of key ways. We need to make the investments in order to catch up. We have some old equipment we’re trying to replace.”
Juror Lamar Johnson, who was instrumental in getting the tax exemption for Pine Prairie Energy, said he heard a lot of the same arguments back then.
“You can’t worry about next week or two weeks from now or a month from now,” he said as he spoke in favor of the exemption. “You have to look at the big picture of it. In 10 years, this will be a smart thing to do. Everybody will agree that it’s a smart move.”
He went on to say, “Drive around town and look what’s closed down. Look at how many vacant buildings you see. That’s what puts people in a bind. That’s what makes people wonder. If you kill this right here, that’s what Cabot will be over time.”
Dr. Gwen Fontenot, speaking as one of Soileau’s constituents, said she was closed minded at first about the exemption. However, she came around after hearing different discussions on the issue. “If we don’t think about what we’re not getting and focus on what we’re getting, it’s a lot more than what we have if they walk away.”
Juror Keith Saucier was on the fence about the issue that has kept him awake over the past several nights. “Right now,” he said, “in my road district alone, I have four employees. I need five, but I can’t afford to hire another man. It’s not an easy decision to make. We have a lot of small businesses that depend on Cabot for furnishing their salaries. I know the new jobs coming in would help too.”
Certified public accountant for Cabot John Vidrine explained tax revenues from Cabot are always increasing as pre-existing industrial tax exemptions fall off the books and new ones go into effect.
He said, “It’s huge numbers either way you look at it. Our taxes will increase again next year, so you will have two to three years of new money coming in before this project even hits.”
Jay Gielow, president of Evangeline Parish Tourism, said, “I truly believe this staring contest is not going to end well.”
He concluded, “Cabot has no problems pulling out of here if that’s what they want to do. If the plant pulls out, there’s no tax dollars right there. If this closes, it’s the first domino. The next one will go from there, and where do we find ourselves from there.”