Local resident critical of Vernon College trustees hearing tax abatement presentation in closed session
A plea to the Vernon College board of trustees was made during a regular business meeting Nov. 12 by Wilbarger County resident Kim Arnold for the trustees to take a close look at a company seeking a tax abatement from the college.
Arnold made his request ahead of a scheduled presentation to the board by Doug Heinz, site selection and incentives advisory manager for Kroll, a company representing a business seeking tax abatements in Wilbarger County from the hospital district, Vernon College and the county, for a project to be located within Wilbarger County.
Besides imploring the college trustees to research the company that is seeking to locate a technology project in Wilbarger County, Arnold questioned the reason that the board was going to hear Heinz presentation during a closed session and not during an open meeting.
“So y’all have done a very harmful thing to the taxpayers of Vernon, and especially when you decided to keep it secret, I ought to be able to sit in here and listen to what this man has to say,” Arnold said referring to the presentation Heinz was about to present during a closed session of the board meeting.
Later during the meeting, the trustees entered closed session to hear the presentation from Heinz on a requested tax abatement. Trustee James Brock and Board Chairman Bob Ferguson each questioned the necessity of a closed session for Heinz presentation.
“…there are certain aspects of the project we would like to share with you, but we don’t think that the public needs to know at this time,” Heinz explained to the board.
“If the project does proceed, and we do move forward in that process, that’s when the public would learn those details. So, these are meant to be preliminary talks, and then if things go forward, that’s when the public gets to learn more information regarding the project.”
Vernon College President Dusty Johnston pointed out to the board that he had signed a non-disclosure agreement with Kroll and that he had given his word the presentation would be heard in executive session.
No action was taken by the board during the meeting on the tax abatement request as it was not on the agenda for board action. It was mentioned that the item could be included on the December agenda for the trustees to act on whether to grant an abatement.
