Tony London
The Bartholomew County Council will consider initial approval for a major tax deduction for a company bringing county-wide high-speed internet service.
The proposal to declare the entire county an Economic Revitalization Area is part of the effort to create a fiber-to-home network that reaches more than 80% of the county’s residences, Bartholomew County Broadband Initiative Committee Chairman Tony London said.
If the declaration is approved tonight – and then again on second reading at another meeting – the county plans to provide Hoosier Networks, LLC, owned by Meridiam Infrastructure North America Corp., nearly the same tax incentives provided in August by the Columbus City Council, the commissioners said. The city approved a 20-year personal property tax abatement for Hoosier Networks for fiber optic lines.
It will take about two-and-a-half years to complete the installation of these lines to 11,845 homes, London said earlier this year. But he stressed the ultimate goal is to provide fiber optic access to every residence in the county.
London is asking those who support countywide rural broadband internet to voice their support in some form to the county council. The council meets at 6 p.m. tonight in their first floor chambers of the Bartholomew County Governmental Office Building at Third and Franklin streets.
“We’ve been working extremely hard for almost two years to get fiber internet out into our rural areas,” London said during Monday’s commissioners meeting. “It’s a crucial need for the future of Bartholomew County. We’re at the goal line and we need a little help getting it over the goal.”
One stipulation in the county’s contract calls for Hoosier Networks to work with school corporations to identify families who qualify for free or reduced lunch, London said. Those families should be able to obtain greatly-reduced or free internet, he said.
Meridiam, an infrastructure investment company, will put about $33 million into the project. The $4 million that Hoosier Networks will receive from Bartholomew County government consists of federal COVID-19 relief funds from the American Rescue Plan. That money is intended to reach remote homes where it would not be economically feasible for private firms to extend the fiber lines on their own.
Besides the $4 million, Hoosier Networks has said the offer is contingent upon receiving the tax abatements from the county, as well as the city, county attorney Grant Tucker said earlier.
One council member who frequently votes against tax abatement requests said he’s likely to abstain from the vote.
Bill Lentz says he signed contracts with competing companies that allowed them to put up multiple towers on his property. Those firms are on record against the tax breaks that will be considered tonight, so abstention would avoid a conflict of interest, Lentz said.
Council president Greg Duke said he wants to hear tonight’s presentation from Greater Columbus Economic Development Corp. President Jason Hester regarding the tax breaks before he makes up his mind.
While insisting he wants countywide high-speed internet, Duke said he’s not comfortable with the involvement of tax money.
“Brown County is doing it, but they aren’t doing it with public money,” Duke said. “It’s a worthy thing, but is it something we want to pay tax dollars on?”
While the county is only pledging federal COVID-19 relief dollars, Duke said it is still tax money. The council president also said that if Hoosier Networks attempts to force the county to abide by a timeline, he will not sign off on the terms.
But London looks at it differently.
“When the council realizes what this one-single project is going to do for the entire county, it really becomes a no-brainer,” London said. “It simply becomes money we are never going to get because nobody is going to do this project without the tax benefit.”
In December, the commissioners choose Meridiam over AT&T Internet Services after examining bids submitted by both companies. Both were asked to provide a service level of 1,000 megabits per second, also known as gig speed.
The choice of Meridiam was made by a team of experts who evaluated both bids on a criteria of affordability, readiness and overall community impact, project consultant Scott Rudd said.
Eventually, a website will be established where Bartholomew County residents can sign up to bring fiber optics to their homes, the commissioners said.
