The Cookeville Industrial Development Board discussed Wednesday ways it can address companies that are non-compliant with their Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreements.
Putnam County Property Assessor Steve Pierce said Ficosa, Milwaukee Tools, and SAIC are the only three companies that are non-compliant with their agreements. Pierce said he is having a problem communicating with the companies to receive reports and payments, especially this time of year.
“They don’t pay their bill by February 28, they start receiving penalties and interest the Monday after that, and then they get upset, and those can not be waived,” Pierce said. “And we try to work with them, and that’s what I told this company last year, is look, I am trying to help you so you don’t get the penalties and interest after this due date passes.”
Pierce recommended adding language to future agreements that would encourage companies to submit required reports on time and designate clear points of contact to improve communication. Following a suggestion from Chairman Bob Bell, the board agreed to send a letter to the companies requesting a private meeting to discuss concerns and work toward a more productive path forward.
“Would we contemplate creating some kind of letter asking them to meet offline, a non-public meeting with perhaps board representatives, representatives from the city and the county, and the chamber, and try to iron this out in the next 60 days?” Bell said.
The board established a meeting with the companies in the next 30-days after Board Member Randy Porter said 60-days is too long.
“I mean, it should have been the next 30 days or less,” Porter said. “They know there is an issue, so I don’t know why we would wait… cause those penalties and the interest that the county and city put on by state law we can’t take them off, so they are going have to pay those, and the longer that goes on, the more money that is being added.
Pierce said the companies are falling short of their employment requirements. Ficosa is required to maintain at least 625 employees, but reported 487. Milwaukee Tool must have at least 724 employees on staff, but reported 314. SAIC is required to employ 300 workers, yet reported just 68. Bell noted that all three have huge gaps in meeting the required employee numbers.
“I think everyone knows in SAIC’s case, we were really excited about getting that corporate presence here in town,” Bell said. “But COVID hit, they went remote, and that work can be done from anywhere. So officially, they’re still headquartered through here. That unit is still headquartered through here. But you can be in Bangladesh and do that work. So they’re still employing a lot of tech grads, a lot of other folks like that, but they don’t live here in Putnam County, and that’s what the requirements are. Ficosa has been challenged since opening almost, and that one we’ve seen a lot. And really, the same with Milwaukee Tool once they made the transition.”
Bell said compared to other cities, Cookeville is in a slightly better position when it comes to the number of non-compliant companies.
“It’s not unusual to have a little non-compliance,” Bell said. “You know, the economies go up and down, and so it can happen.”
In other business, board members approved signing conflict of interest and confidentiality notices.