Council to consider SHINE agreement
JANESVILLE--The Janesville City Council on Monday will consider a $9 million incentive development agreement with SHINE Medical Technologies.
The city would guarantee SHINE about $5 million—including utilities, land and $1.5 million cash—if certain criteria are met, including property tax payments and employment.
The city also would agree to back $4 million in loans from a private party.
The council will consider the agreement at a 7 p.m. meeting at City Hall, 18 N. Jackson St. The agenda does not include a public hearing, but residents can speak at the start of the meeting.
It is the costliest development agreement to get this far in recent memory, although the council in 2009 was prepared to offer more to General Motors when it considered building a car line here. That car line instead went to Michigan.
For a full story, read Thursday’s Gazette, read online in the Gazette’s E-Edition or check back at GazetteXtra.com.
Feb 9, 2012 at 9:18 p.m.
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What happens when the company fails? The tax payers will get caught holding the bag of radio active waste and a chunk of land that needs cleaning up at the tune of millions.
Feb 9, 2012 at 6:54 p.m.
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janesvillean,
Thanks for the info.
What I specifically am concerned about is this:
"The city also would agree to back $4 million in loans from a private party."
I don' recall this being part of the usual TIF situation.
I also would be interested to see the part of the agreement where the City is guaranteed FULL repayment if the company fails, does not create the stated number of jobs, or moves before the TIF limit is up.
Feb 9, 2012 at 4:42 p.m.
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hdonlybob, the print article from today was just posted and details some of the conditions that must be met for disbursement and loan forgiveness. This isn't a bag of cash on a desk and a handshake.
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Janesville has developed 35 TIFs -- they probably have a little experience in how it's done.
Feb 9, 2012 at 9:41 a.m.
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Sarah, we have reported this several times. It's 125 jobs, most paying $50,000 to $60,000, if memory serves. --Gazette reporter Frank Schultz
Feb 9, 2012 at 9:22 a.m.
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While I totally support them coming to Janesville, I have previously stated my opinions on this type of situation.
This is getting way out of hand, and I question all the dollars that the City is not only spending, but guaranteeing as a loan backer.
As I have stated before, if a company needs this type of financial commitment from Janesville there should be a FIRM lien of some sort on the company that guarantees ALL the money be repaid if the job figures are not met, if this company shuts down, or moves its operation, leaving Janesville holding the bag.
This is a LOT of money we are talking about here.
Feb 9, 2012 at 9:13 a.m.
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If SHINE wants to come here , great! Enough with this extoryion for public tax dollars. This is not the "free-market", this is crony Capitalism. This type of thing sould be illegal, its essentially extorting 9 million from the city for some jobs? If there werent a market for this kind of crap and it was illgal, think of the tax dollars that could be saved!! So many conservatives are anti-spending, anti- government this flies in the face of both!
I just dont understand how desparate can they get? I understand a low interest loan maybe, or even interest free, but giving them free tax gifts? Not while we are so broke as a community and have a large contingency of the community that refuse to pay 6 bucks a month more to keep our schools competetive.
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