Ford plant seeking reduced tax bill

By PATRICK BRENNAN TIMES-JOURNAL

Posted 4 hours ago

Elgin county and Southwold township will split legal fee costs when it comes to an appeal of an assessment ruling that reduces the amount of tax the Ford plant will pay.

The county and Southwold are jointly appealing the assessment ruling.

Jim Bundschuh, director of financial services for the county, said a resolution authorizing the move, reflects the position both the county and Southwold have always taken, but this acknowledges a legal firm is being retained.

Ford is appealing the assessment of its property in Southwold. It wants its assessment to be approximately $12.5 million, about half of the current $24 million figure.

Up until now, MTE Paralegal has been representing the county and Southwold.

"They're still retained, but there's also going to be a law firm involved," Bundschuh noted. "We're just saying yes, we agree to share the total cost."

None of the sides know now what the costs will be, Bundschuh said.

"It's going to depend on how lengthy the battle is," he said. "In the grand scheme, the legal costs are relatively small compared to the outcome. What's the result of the appeal? That's the one that's hard to budget for.

"What kind of rebate will we potentially have to give to Ford? That's the difficult one to put our heads around."

The appeal means the county won't be able to reduce its budgeted amount it would have used for tax writeoffs, Bundschuh noted.

"We now have to keep it at elevated levels," he said. "We'll see where that appeal comes out and, hopefully, we have some good news at the end. It's possible we'll be able to settle this without having to go to arbitration and that will keep the legal fees down and it's in both parties' interest to do that and only time will tell which direction we're going.

"I think in the long run, Ford is going to be reasonable."

The next meeting for all parties is scheduled for March.

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Source: http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3439211

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