Taylor Independent School District has a new tax increment reinvestment zone that could be used for Samsung Austin Semiconductor’s new facility coming to Taylor.
On May 24, Taylor ISD’s board of trustees held a public hearing and then approved with a 6-0 vote with board president Marco Ortiz’s abstention on the creation of a reinvestment zone and applications from Samsung for agreements for an appraised value limitation. Ortiz and the rest of the board unanimously voted to retain the district’s consultants — Moak Casey and O'Hanlon, Demerath & Castillo — to assist the rest of the process.
“(Samsung) and the school district will continue to negotiate terms,” said Superintendent Devin Padavil.
The specific items approved were:
• acceptance of an application from Samsung Austin Semiconductor, LLC for an amendment to the agreement for an appraised value limitation on qualified property in Comptrollers File No. 1620, to authorize the superintendent to review the application for completeness and submit to the state comptroller and to authorize the superintendent to enter into any agreement to extend the deadline for board action beyond 150 days, subject to board ratification;
• acceptance of multiple new applications from Samsung Austin Semiconductor, LLC for multiple agreements for an appraised value limitation on qualified property, to authorize the superintendent to review the application for completeness and submit to the state comptroller, and to authorize the superintendent to enter into any agreement to extend the deadline for board action beyond 150 days, subject to board ratification; and
• retainment of consultants to assist the district in processing both the amended application and the new applications from Samsung Austin Semiconductor, LLC for multiple agreements for an appraised value limitation on qualified property.
A tax increment reinvestment zone is a political subdivision of a municipality or county in Texas created to implement tax increment financing. Last year, the Taylor City Council approved a TIRZ where the Samsung Austin Semiconductor plant is planned for construction.
“Samsung owns a large portion of land, but only a small portion of that land was approved as a TIRZ. The company wishes to expand to the TIRZ for possible future expansion,” said Padavil. “The expansion of the TIRZ allows for additional plants to be built.”
The appraised value limitations are part of Chapter 313 of the Texas Tax Code. According to the Texas Comptroller’s Office, an appraised value limitation is an agreement in which a taxpayer agrees to build or install property and create jobs in exchange for a 10-year limitation on the taxable property value for school district maintenance and operations tax purposes. The minimum limitation value varies by school district.
“Chapter 313 agreements allow for financial benefits for the school district and the company concerned. Without these, companies may choose locations with better incentives,” said Padvail in regard to the possibility if the agreements are not approved.
Several residents attended Tuesday’s meeting to express their support, concern or curiosity at what Taylor ISD’s actions could mean for them.
“I think at a minimum, what we as a board and the district should do is in full transparency is there should be multiple public meetings going forward as more information becomes available so that we can have this forum,” said board member Jim Buzan. “The citizens can see the data. They can put the numbers to the test, see that math, how does it benefit not only the district, how does it benefit the students, how’s the taxpayer going to see a benefit from it as well. I think we can commit we will offer that transparency in this forum or another setting.”
Padavil affirmed that town hall meetings are planned, and last Tuesday’s meeting keeps options open.
“Accepting agreements allows for negotiations to continue between the company, the city, the school district, and the county,” said Padavil. “The deadline to submit an application is June 1. If no agreement was accepted, the negotiation process for the agreement would end. If accepted, this would potentially add more taxable value to the school district and increase the capacity for the school district to lower property tax rates over time.”
Samsung announced it was bringing a plant to Taylor in November 2021 during a press conference with Gov. Greg Abbott. News of the new plant was recently spotlighted by President Joe Biden as well.
“It is transformative,” said Buzan. “This is something that will change the complexion of not only Taylor but the county beyond our lifetime.”
