No Emergency Or Special Session Meeting Will Be Held As 18 Data Center “Fire Sale” Tax Giveaway Deals Get Sealed

The Real Story – A Column

Editor’s Note:  The story was updated after reviewing an updated version of the Hillsboro City Charter.  Some portions of this post indicated that Mayor Beach Pace had a unilateral authority under the Charter to call for a Special Session or emergency meeting. After reviewing the 2007 Hillsboro Charter, we see that this was not the case.  The Herald caught this in review and is republishing the story with clarifications about this discovery.

The call for an Emergency Meeting or special session of the Hillsboro City Council is not moving ahead.  

By pushing the conversation to a June 2nd work session, just four days before a state-mandated data center moratorium, the Mayor and Councilors who chose not to support a meeting sooner than 6-2-26 are effectively ensuring that 18 pending Enterprise Zone applications will become legally binding before the public or the Council has a chance to intervene. That is the way it appears right now

Under ORS 285C.160, Enterprise Zone agreements are legally ineffective until 21 days after the public notice is posted. By refusing to support the call for an emergency session from Councilors Kipperlyn Sinclair and Olivia Alcaire, the Mayor and other City Council members may find that the clock ran out on reviewing these agreements. For the “Fire Sale” applications submitted in late April and early May, the clock is ticking toward a “point of no return” where the City can probably no longer legally void the agreements.

Pace may say there is room for review, but data centers are owned by the world’s wealthiest firms, and dealing with their legal teams will likely prove futile. The Mayor indicates that additional time is needed to get all the information and see what can be done about the deals. The OregonLive story we reviewed this week is listed here; it says more about this. We want the information to be clear on this.

In her official statement, Mayor Pace stated she could not hold the meeting because a “majority” of the Council did not support it. Pace could try to rally the support of candidates she ran with at City Hall, including Cristian Salgado, Elizabeth Case, and Saba Anvery, to secure approval for a quicker public meeting to lay out, in the open, the actions of Economic Development Director Dan Dias and City Manager Robby Hammond.

The Hillsboro Herald has prepared a MAP OF THE DEALS– Below you will see how many Enterprise Zone Property Tax Exemption deals the City of Hillsboro economic development staff have approved in the last month, allowing some of the world’s largest Data Center Companies to gain years and years of Property tax Waivers

It looked hopeful early this week that appointed Councilor Cristian Salgado would stand up with Alcaire and Sinclair.  However, that changed when he took to social media and said he would not support an Emergency meeting. Salgado played a key role in the delay, telling constituents on social media that he needed to “socialize” the request with City staff.   Salgado, whose professional career includes positions at PGE, INTEL, and Washington County, is now a key player blocking an emergency meeting where an audit of the data center deals could be conducted, the community informed, and possible pre-“21-day-deadline” deals could be stopped.

Because there will be no Emergency Meeting, the odds that the Hillsboro School District moves closer to losing $25 to $30 million in annual potential tax revenue become almost certain.  Not to mention Washington County, PCC, METRO, and others who normally receive property tax revenues from those who actually pay them.  All of these entities have been placed into a virtual revenue desert for many years during these trying economic times.

Mayor Pace claims she is following ‘state requirements.  Business Oregon, the very agency that manages these programs, reportedly said it was never consulted on these 25-year deals. Even more alarming, the state is now questioning the validity of these contracts.

Why did City Hall sign 18 more ‘potentially invalid’ deals before the state could weigh in?

Mayor Pace has promised a “Work Session” on June 2nd. However, by that date:

• The 21-day protest period for the 18 pending applications will have largely expired.
• The City Attorney, who reports to the very staff signing these deals, will likely advise the Council that “the ink is dry.”
• The public will likely be told that “due to legal obligations,” the multi-decade tax breaks cannot be reversed.

Next Opportunity for Public Comment: Regular City Council Meeting, May 19th. Show up and ask why the calendar is more important than the classroom.