In a bid to encourage further investment by companies in Auburn, the Auburn City Council approved tax abatements for GE Aviation, an aerospace manufacturing company, and additional abatements for Briggs & Straton, an engine manufacturer.
Tax abatements are legislative tools that allow companies to pay less in municipal taxes for a given amount of time.
The abatements were approved at the April 16 City Council meeting.
Earlier this year, GE Aviation announced it would invest $50 million in its Auburn plant in order to expand additive manufacturing, otherwise known as 3D-printing, at the plant. The expansion will add about 60 new jobs.
“We’re very excited for this new investment in our additive manufacturing operation here in Auburn,” GE Aviation’s Auburn plant leader Ricardo Acevedo said at the time.
“This is an expansion of a new engine line,” said Jim Buston, Auburn City Manager. “They are making parts for a different engine right now and they would add one in Auburn, so there would be two engine parts they would make.”
The tax abatements, which cut the amount of taxes the companies pay to the city, will last for 15 years, with the last 5 years being only municipal property taxes abated. GE Aviation anticipates the next two years will provide a capital investment of approximately $50 million.
Briggs & Straton will also receive an increase in tax abatement that the Council approved in October.
The increase is to better reflect the impact the new distribution center will have on the community, since the facility is larger than anticipated, according to the city.
In the first phase of the project, 25 jobs were created at the Briggs & Straton facility. Another 57 new employees are anticipated over the next two years.
The Briggs & Straton tax abatements were raised by about $8 million. The package waives non-educational property taxes and sales-and-use taxes for the next 15 years.
Councilmember Tommy Dawson and Mayor Ron Anders both praised city staff on the work they have done in securing GE Aviation and Briggs & Straton’s positions in Auburn.
The councilmembers praised the work the city staff are doing to help the companies grow and give back to the community.
“It is great news, and I would like to commend the city staff years ago for getting GE in here,” Dawson said. “It was really good for Auburn, and it looks like it’ll be even better for Auburn.”
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