“The Gilbert Public Schools’ governing board on Monday voted 5-0 in favor of allowing a tax break for Apple Inc., meaning the tech giant can continue with its plans to open a manufacturing plant in Mesa,” Karen Schmidt reports for The Arizona Republic. “Monday’s vote came before a standing-room-only crowd and followed a brief meeting with no debate. By contrast, the five-member board was unable to reach a decision during an hour of contentious debate at a Nov. 12 board meeting.”
“The fate of the high-profile deal potentially worth hundreds of jobs seemed to hang in the balance, with the school district being the last of eight governing entities needed to approve a property reclassification that would entitle the premier tech company to a tax break,” Schmidt reports. “Officials earlier lauded Apple’s Nov. 4 announcement that it was buying the now-vacant First Solar Inc. building at Signal Butte and Elliot roads. The move is expected to pour $1 billion into the economy and bring 700 permanent and 1,300 temporary construction jobs to the Valley.”
“The board’s inability to reach a consensus during its Nov. 12 board meeting worried Valley boosters and community members,” Schmidt reports. “Two board members were in favor and two were opposed. The board president, Staci Burk, often the swing vote on the board, told The Arizona Republic on Thursday that she was in favor of the deal.”
MacDailyNews Take: Sheesh, these are no-brainer votes. You can always ID the real idiots when these type of votes come up. Communities should pray to have the chance to vote yea to bring Apple investment and Apple jobs to their area, not to mention utilize currently vacant buildings.
Let’s see, $1 billion, 700 permanent jobs, 1,300 temporary construction jobs, all of the taxes (sales, property, etc.) that each of those workers will pay, plus a large building will be maintained or nothing but the empty building we currently have sitting there slowly rotting. Duh, how should we vote?
This is when smart voters note the names of the clueless and vote accordingly in the next election.
“Board member Jill Humpherys, who was in favor of the deal since the beginning, said since last Tuesday’s meeting she had received 450 e-mails from the community in support of the deal. Board member Julie Smith had originally stated she was against the proposal because she didn’t believe in tax breaks for large corporations,” Schmidt reports. “Board member Daryl Colvin, who had said he was against the deal, said Monday night that after meeting with officials he now believed it would be beneficial to taxpayers. Humpherys charged that Smith’s and Colvin’s qualms were motivated by ‘political ideology.’ Burk apologized for the delay in the vote and said she had ‘appreciated hearing from the governor.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Wonder if Julie Smith and Daryl Colvin appreciated hearing from the governor, too? Probably not so much.
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