BUTLER TWP — Leaders from the Virginia-based real estate company Cambridge Healthcare Solutions asked the Butler school board to agree to tax increment financing for the property on which it will build the new VA Butler Healthcare center in Center Township.

The facility will be built on 46 acres along Duffy Road. The developer has an option on an adjoining 100 acres.

The board took no action on the request at its meeting Monday night.

Mark Hefferin, senior vice president with Cambridge, told the school board there’s potentially 7,200 jobs that can be created for the project.

“That would be an initial 1,800, and then there’s ancillary jobs that come with that, whether it’s service-related, banking, et cetera,” Hefferin said. “So with that comes all the subsequent income tax revenue, not just from the assets, but also from the people who would be employed.”

Cambridge suggested a 20-year TIF with an 80 percent reduction in taxes. The amount of that reduction would go toward development of various infrastructure for the 750,000 square feet of potential development space.

With current millage rates at 94.8 mills, Hefferin said the total annual taxes on the property would be about $467,000 for the three taxing bodies — school district, township and county.

Eighty percent of that amount would be spent on infrastructure improvements over the life of the TIF.

Solicitor Tom King said he wasn’t sure the 80 percent reduction, 20-year TIF was a reasonable offer to make. A shorter length of time and a smaller percentage would be more palatable to the board.

Board members Don Pringle and Bill Halle also had concerns about granting a TIF.

“Before I would vote to give away 80 percent of our taxes, I’d have to have a whole lot more than a maybe or a probably. We’ve given out taxes before, and they haven’t worked out the way they said,” Halle said.

“I’m with Bill here,” Pringle said.

“You’re the third person in line here that have asked for tax abatements. The first had promise of jobs. ... There’s no guarantee.”

One of the TIF plans approved by the board in the past few years was for Centre City, a hotel, garage and commercial development downtown.

The board noted the project likely wouldn’t have been constructed without the tax break. Hefferin said Cambridge would be developing the VA project regardless of whether a TIF was approved.

Several Center Township leaders who attended the meeting, including Solicitor Sean Gallagher, were supportive of the project.

“I believe the township is open to considering all offers. I know that we’ve been working very closely with Cambridge in terms of getting their permit processes done in a very quick manner in terms of making sure that they considering the health, safety and welfare of the community anytime while they’re going through this process,” Gallagher said. “I think the supervisors at least agree that they’ve been very cooperative, very respectful of all of the proceedings so far.”