Commission approves Patten Towers Pilot deal

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – The Hamilton County Commission also voted in favor of giving a Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreement to the developer of the one hundred and ten year old Patton Towers.

Commissioner Tim Boyd quickly restated his opposition to the measure, before vowing to never support another PILOT agreement for a developer.

“It’s just got such a cloud hanging over it in my opinion, I don’t see how anybody could support this. It’s fearful that we’re going to be faced with a tax increase, fearful from my perspective, we’re going to be faced with a tax increase very shortly, and that tax increase is for general services. ”

He did however, indicate his support for job creation PILOTs such as the Volkswagen expansion.

Chairman Sabrena Smedley said that such PILOTs are needed to incentivise developers.

” I would consider a building that’s a hundred years old to be a blighted building..and how do we get developers to go into a blighted area or a hundred year old building and invest if we don’t incentivise. ”

The measure passed 8 TO 1, with Boyd voting no.