Commissioners, South Butler board vote to extend tax abatement program
Both the Butler County Commissioners and the South Butler School Board have voted in favor of extending a Keystone Opportunity Zone in an attempt to lure an Allegheny County company to a Clinton Township business park. KOZ is a tax abatement program established by the state Department of Community and Economic Development to help underdeveloped areas attract new investment, businesses and jobs. The commissioners unanimously approved the extensions, while the school board passed the measure by a vote of 5 to 3. Both groups voted to extend the tax abatement for an 8-acre property within Victory Road Business Park in Clinton Township. The original KOZ is to expire on this property Dec. 31, 2017, but the extension will keep the abatement in place until Dec. 31, 2022. Ken Raybuck, the CDC’s executive director, said an Allegheny County business that manufactures items for dams and power plants has signed a sales agreement to buy the property for $1.2 million. The buyer would invest another $1 million in equipment and bring his 17 employees to Victory Road, with an annual payroll of $850,000. With the KOZ, this company would not pay any property taxes to the county, township or school district for 10 years. Raybuck said he could not name the company at this time.
