SALT LAKE CITY — Following an emotional two-hour meeting Tuesday, the Jordan Board of Education breathed life into a controversial deal meant to lure a giant Facebook data center to West Jordan.

The board threw its support behind the plan in a 5-1 vote Tuesday, despite several members expressing contempt with West Jordan city officials and terms of the proposed tax breaks.

Desperation for additional tax revenue generated from the 230-acre data center — even at the cost of millions in rebates over 20 years — ultimately pushed most school board members to support the plan.

"It's a real difficult situation," said Susan Pulsipher, president of the Jordan Board of Education. "The project itself is badly needed. It's good for our district, and it's good for the children. … But the terms are not right. It's not fair to the taxpayers in Jordan School District. We should have never had that deal come before us."

The school district would garner more new revenue under the deal than any other taxing entity — $17 million over 20 years on property that currently generates just $100 per year.

Without the proposed tax breaks, the data center would generate $111 million over 20 years in property tax revenue for the school district. However, city officials have said the tax breaks are necessary to bring the data center to West Jordan.

Even with the school district's support, the deal appears to be hanging by a thread.

Later Tuesday, Salt Lake County leaders unanimously decided against supporting the proposal, reluctant to back a plan they say has produced more questions than answers since it became public last week.

Now, only one more dissenting vote would bury the plan. In order for so-called Project Discus to survive, no more than two representatives on West Jordan's Taxing Entity Committee can vote against the plan during its meeting next Monday.

Of the eight members on the taxing entity committee that will decide the fate of the project, two represent West Jordan, two are from the county, two are from the Jordan School Board, one is from the Utah State Board of Education, and one represents all other taxing entities.

While West Jordan officials say the deal could be a great long-term investment to spur high-tech development on vacant land, county leaders, tax officials and other critics ripped Project Discus for potentially costing about $240 million in property, sales and energy tax rebates over 20 years, even though it would only attract about 100 jobs to West Jordan.

Exactly what that tax rebate cost would be was unclear Tuesday. West Jordan officials said it would only cost $185 million in rebates, noting that terms of the deal have changed since an earlier plan was presented to county officials. However, the plan also included a $250 million cap as of Tuesday, meaning that's the max the company could be rebated in case projections vary.

That cost uncertainty had McAdams saying he had even more concerns about the project than he did last week.

"I'm very troubled about the lack of transparency in this. We are finally getting some information about what the local property tax incentive is, but it's still not clear about the energy tax and other elements that go into this," he said.

Related

Deal to lure Facebook to West Jordan may not need county support

Elected officials in West Jordan and Salt Lake County appear locked in an impasse over a $240 million tax break deal to lure an enormous Facebook data center to Utah after a contentious meeting.

West Jordan City Manager Mark Palesh said he understood county leaders faced a "tough" decision, and difficulty obtaining information could have contributed to their reluctance to support.

"Had we had some of this information two weeks ago, we may have been in a different state today," Palesh said. "But (Project Discus) is very secretive, as most corporations are."

McAdams praised his colleagues on the County Council for their unanimous opposition, and he encouraged other taxing entities that still haven't chosen a formal position on the project to proceed with caution.

"This sends a strong signal from the county, saying this is not the right deal for us," he said, "so I hope the other taxing entities will pay attention. They will see there are still a lot of unanswered questions."

With two "no" votes from the county and a pair "yes" votes from the Jordan School District, that means the swing vote could rest on the Utah State Board of Education.

"If the State School Board votes against it, then Facebook is gone," Palesh said, frankly, after the county's vote.

That decision, however, has been delayed.The State School Board was initially scheduled to vote on its position Thursday, but the meeting was canceled Tuesday because of scheduling issues, said board spokeswoman Emilie Wheeler.

State School Board Chairman David Crandall said he wasn't sure whether the board would be able to schedule another time to take a formal position this week, meaning the board may have to abstain from the vote during Monday's meeting.

An abstaining vote would technically be a dissenting vote, so Palesh said the committee could reschedule Monday's meeting to give the State School Board more time.

However, Crandall said Tuesday he sensed that board members aren't supportive of the proposal because they're waiting for more information about what the deal's state sales tax incentive would actually be.

"We're not going to make a decision without having the data to support it," he said.

Related topics