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Abatement Reports 2011 - 2017

 ​Note: For accuracy, the amounts are from reports filed by the City of South Bend, IN.  You can download the PDF's directly by clicking on the buttons. They have the OFFICIAL CITY STAMP on them. These are reports signed by the Director of Community Investment, James Mueller.  (His term as Director started in April of 2017.)
ABATEMENT SUMMARY REPORT

There are two kinds of Abatements – Real Property and Personal Property. This report will break them out for clarity. It is concerning that multiple $0/10 Year Abatements have been given. These mean ZERO tax income for a FULL DECADE, at a time of DEFICITS and Circuit Breaker restrictions. Workers coming from other counties pay their local option tax to the county they live in, which means we may or may not see a tax benefit at all.
Also of concern is there seem to be negative numbers next to “remaining time” and missing information.

It seems Abatements have gone from $1M to now over $36M per year. This is not a sustainable practice and the current Abatements may cripple future tax income needed. Giving these Abatements puts even more stress on the taxpayer burden.
Note: Other cities do not give Abatements to businesses receiving TIF or other grants.

Remember, the justification of Abatements is NEW JOB CREATION. Many of these generated less than 10 jobs and some were ZERO jobs. Economists have noted this isn’t really an effective way to generate new jobs and reduces the tax base. Also, we are hitting the Circuit Breaker in 2020.
Suggestions:
  1. Limit both Real and Personal Abatements to 5 years.
  2. Put a cap on the total allowed Abatements in one year.
  3. Only allow graduated Abatements, not full $0 Abatements
  4. If companies do not produce expected contractual results they will have their Abatement revoked and owe the additional taxes.
  5. All those receiving Abatements must provide documentation showing they have met their contractual agreement or they will have their Abatement revoked and owe the additional taxes.
  6. Be like other cities and if the company gets TIF funds, they do not get Abatements as well.
  7. The above needs to be an ORDINANCE.          
  8. Audit all these past Abatements for compliance
  9. Investigate why some companies have a negative number of years and if they received Abatements beyond when they were supposed to.
Someone from the Department of Community Development needs to report to the Council the status of all the Abatements and the totals for the year and the amounts already committed from previous year Abatements monthly so the agreed upon limit for the year is not exceeded. 
Picture
2011     Real Property $1,325,195 + Personal Property $360,268 = $1,685,463
2012     Real Property $1,047,098 + Personal Property $317,334 = $1,364,432
2013     Real Property $15,661,652 + Personal Property $2,745,276 = $18,406,928
2014     Real Property $13,129,317 + Personal Property $2,279,219 = $15,408,536
2015     Real Property $19,178,972 + Personal Property $2,749,028 = $19,178,972
2016     Real Property $22,935,789 + Personal Property $2,763,357 = $25,699,146
2017     Real Property $32,399,118 + Personal Property $3,694,083 = $36,093,201    
                                   Grand Total for 7 Years = 
$117,836,678
Picture

2011 Abatements

Real Property Abatements for                   49 Companies =      $    1,325,195
Personal Property Abatements for           29 Companies =      $     360,268
                                                                        Grand Total              $  1,685,463

Real Property
– Of those 49, 27 of them generated 10 or less new jobs and
                                                        13 of these generated at NO NEW JOBS at all.

25 of these got an Abatement for a full 10 years—a decade.

Personal Property – Of those 29, 15 of them generated 10 or less new jobs and
                                                                 7 of these generated at NO NEW JOBS at all..

Note: 5 show negative numbers. Does this mean they are continuing to get Abatements beyond what they were voted to receive?

Source:  Department of Community Investment Annual 2011 Report filed in the Clerk’s Office on 6/15/2012

Questions:   How many of these are out of compliance? If they are out of compliance, is the City working to revoke and recover these Abatements?
City of South Bend 2011 Abatements PDF

2012 Abatements

Real Property Abatements for                   41 Companies  =     $  1,047,098
Personal Property Abatements for           26 Companies =      $     317,334
                                                                       Grand Total              $  1,364,432

Real Property
– Of those 41, 21 of them generated 10 or less new jobs and
                                                       10 of these generated at NO NEW JOBS at all.

18 of these got an Abatement for a full 10 years—a decade.

Note: 2 show negative numbers. Does this mean they are continuing to get Abatements beyond what they were voted to receive?

Personal Property – Of those 26, 11 of them generated 10 or less new jobs and
                                                                 5 of these generated at NO NEW JOBS at all.

Note: 6 show negative numbers. Does this mean they are continuing to get Abatements beyond what they were voted to receive?

Source:  Department of Community Investment Annual 2012 Report filed in the Clerk’s Office on 6/14/13
​
Questions:   How many of these are out of compliance? If they are out of compliance, is the City working to revoke and recover these Abatements?
CITY OF SOUTH BEND 2012 ABATEMENTS PDF

2013 Abatements

Real Property Abatements for                   40 Companies  =     $15,661,652
Personal Property Abatements for           32 Companies =      $  2,745,276
                                                                       Grand Total              $18,406,928

Real Property
– Of those 40, 15 of them generated 10 or less new jobs and
                                                        11 of these generated at NO NEW JOBS at all.

7 of these got an Abatement for a full 10 years—a decade.

Note: 6 show negative numbers. Does this mean they are continuing to get Abatements beyond what they were voted to receive?

Personal Property – Of those 32,   7 of them generated 10 or less new jobs and
                                                                  5 of these generated at NO NEW JOBS at all..

Note: 3 show negative numbers. Does this mean they are continuing to get Abatements beyond what they were voted to receive?

Source:  Department of Community Investment Annual 2013 Report filed in the Clerk’s Office on 6/24/14

Questions:   How many of these are out of compliance? If they are out of compliance, is the City working to revoke and recover these Abatements?
CITY OF SOUTH BEND 2013 ABATEMENTS PDF

2014 Abatements

Real Property Abatements for                   30 Companies  =     $13,129,317
Personal Property Abatements for           25 Companies =      $  2,279,219
                                                                      Grand Total              $15,408,536

Real Property
– Of those 30, 17 of them generated 10 or less new jobs and
                                                         7 of these generated at NO NEW JOBS at all.

6 of these got an Abatement for a full 10 years—a decade.

Note: 4 show negative numbers. Does this mean they are continuing to get Abatements beyond what they were voted to receive?

Personal Property – Of those 25, 11 of them generated 10 or less new jobs and
                                                                6 of these generated at NO NEW JOBS at all..

Note: 4 show negative numbers. Does this mean they are continuing to get Abatements beyond what they were voted to receive?

Source:  Department of Community Investment Annual 2014 Report filed in the Clerk’s Office on 6/15/15 (Not stamped)

Questions:   How many of these are out of compliance? If they are out of compliance, is the City working to revoke and recover these Abatements?   ​
CITY OF SOUTH BEND 2014 ABATEMENTS PDF

2015 Abatements

Real Property Abatements for                   36 Companies  =     $19,178,972
Personal Property Abatements for           32 Companies =      $  2,749,028
                                                                        Grand Total              $19,178,972

Real Property
– Of those 36, 23 of them generated 10 or less new jobs and
                                                        10 of these generated at NO NEW JOBS at all.

6 of these got an Abatement for a full 10 years—a decade.

Note: 6 show negative numbers. Does this mean they are continuing to get Abatements beyond what they were voted to receive?

Personal Property – Of those 32, 19 of them generated 10 or less new jobs and
                                                                 8 of these generated at NO NEW JOBS at all..

Note: 6 show negative numbers. Does this mean they are continuing to get Abatements beyond what they were voted to receive?

Source:  Department of Community Investment Annual 2015 Report filed in the Clerk’s Office on 6/21/16

Questions:   How many of these are out of compliance? If they are out of compliance, is the City working to revoke and recover these Abatements? ​
CITY OF SOUTH BEND 2015 ABATEMENTS PDF

2016 Abatements

Real Property Abatements for                   42 Companies  =     $22,935,789
Personal Property Abatements for           32 Companies =      $  2,763,357
                                                                       Grand Total              $25,699,146

Real Property
– Of those 42, 29 of them generated 10 or less new jobs and
                                                        14 of these generated at NO NEW JOBS at all.

11 of these got an Abatement for a full 10 years—a decade.

Personal Property – Of those 32, 20 of them generated 10 or less new jobs and
                                                                  8 of these generated at NO NEW JOBS at all..

Note: 3 show negative numbers. Does this mean they are continuing to get Abatements beyond what they were voted to receive?

Source:  Department of Community Investment Annual 2016 Report filed in the Clerk’s Office on 6/9/17

Questions:   How many of these are out of compliance? If they are out of compliance, is the City working to revoke and recover these Abatements?
CITY OF SOUTH BEND 2016 ABATEMENTS PDF

2017 Abatements

Real Property Abatements for                   53 Companies  =     $  32,399,118
Personal Property Abatements for          35 Companies =      $  3,694,083
                                                                         Grand Total              $36,093,201

Real Property
– Of those 53, 35 of them generated 10 or less new jobs and
                                                       26 of these generated at NO NEW JOBS at all.

16 of these companies got an Abatement for a full 10 years—a decade.

Note: 19 of the entries do not show the number of years remaining on their Abatement time.
                       
Personal Property – Of those 35, 17 of them generated 10 or less new jobs and
                                                                10 of these generated at NO NEW JOBS at all..

Note: 5 of the entries do not show the number of years remaining on their Abatement time and 7 show negative numbers. Does this mean they are continuing to get Abatements beyond what they were voted to receive?

Source:  Department of Community Investment Annual 2017 Report filed in the Clerk’s Office on 6/15/18

Questions:   How many of these are out of compliance? If they are out of compliance, is the City working to revoke and recover these Abatements?
Also, does this include the Kohl’s lawsuit award for $668K?    ​
CITY OF SOUTH BEND 2017 ABATEMENTS PDF

2018 Abatements

NOTE:  Not available until June of 2019

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  • Home
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  • SBCSC Summary
    • South Bend School Corporation Revenue
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    • South Bend Community School Corporation Debt
    • South Bend Community School Corporation Charts
  • Budget Tutorial Contents
    • South Bend Budget Dates for 2019 >
      • Glossary of Budget Words
      • City of South Bend Organizational Chart
      • City of South Bend Financial Policies
      • City of South Bend Consolidated Financial Schedules Budget
      • City of South Bend Capital and Dept Budget
      • City of South Bend Personnel Summaries
  • Data and Gov Meeting Dates
  • Grants Budget Menu
  • Capital Budget Menu
  • Bond Budget Menu
  • South Bend Common Council Committees
  • Cost of a Shooting in St Joseph County and South Bend Indiana
  • Revenue Menu
  • City of South Bend Detailed Receipts 2017