Foxborough Selectmen Support Invensys Tax Break; Will Recommend Approval at Town Meeting

Invensys took a significant step Tuesday towards investing approximately $33 million into its existing buildings to stay in Foxborough as the town's Board of Selectmen unanimously agreed to recommend the company's Tax Increment Financing (TIF) proposal to voters at Town Meeting on May 13.

The proposal calls for a 15-year TIF agreement between Invensys and the town that would save the company approximately $1.8 million while producing roughly $7.6 million in additional tax revenue over that timeframe. If approved, the town would exempt Invensys completely from new tax payments in years 1-4 of the agreement.

The proposed exemption term (year-by-year) for Invensys' properties - both the 70 Mechanic St. and 38 Neponset Ave. buildings - is as follows:

Year     Exemption Percentage

1               100 percent

2               100 percent

3               100 percent

4               100 percent

5               90 percent

6               80 percent

7               75 percent

8               70 percent

9               60 percent

10             55 percent

11             50 percent

12             40 percent

13             30 percent

14             20 percent

15             10 percent

View the TIF Proposal Assumption graphics in the photo gallery above for more details. To read more on Invensys' proposal, which was agreed to by selectmen Tuesday, click here. The agreement requires approval at Town Meeting before it can be executed.

Foxborough's TIF negotiating committee met "three to four times" prior to sitting down with Invensys at the negotiating table, according to Town Manager Kevin Paicos. Following those prep meetings, Paicos said the committee met with Invensys representatives twice and after several hours of discussion reached an agreement.

That agreement was presented to selectmen Tuesday in the form of a recommendation to accept Invensys' proposal and recommend the TIF program to voters at Town Meeting.

For many town officials, the decision was relatively simple - even though Tuesday's discussion lasted over one-and-a-half-hours.

"This just made huge economical sense," Paicos said. ... "Any community would do anything it could to attract a business like this. We’ve got one and so it simply makes no intelligent sense to roll the dice and lose them. It makes no sense."

Selectmen agreed.

"They are going to continue to pay the taxes they have always paid and we will start seeing revenue in the fifth year of the agreement," said selectman Lynda Walsh. "I think it is also going to encourage people to become employees of the company and therefore those people will be spending more money in town."

Said selectman Virginia "Ginny" Coppola: "The buildings are old and they really need to be modernized and the money from the TIF that they will be investing will be used to modernize those buildings so they can bring people in. This will be a very nice facility. ... Not only do we allow a company to remain here but to invest in this town. That’s very important. We have to welcome investment in the town of Foxborough."

Said selectman Lorraine Brue: "I think the thing that really stands out that I learned is the importance of manufacturing as a business in a community … that is exactly the type of business we would like to see stay in Foxborough or come to Foxborough. ... It’s important to our future to maintain that relationship [with Invensys]. So much depends on the town’s revenue that is brought in by [Invensys'] employees.

Selectmen vice chair Mark Sullivan added this was one of the most important decisions he has made as a member of the board.

"We are not talking about just money here," Sullivan said. "People get relocated when decisions like this are made in the negative. Families get uprooted and moved. Children are taking away from the school systems. This is what I’m thinking about while everyone else is talking numbers. These are life-altering changes."

Not all in Tuesday's audience were in favor of Invensys' TIF proposal, however, as Foxborough resident and Advisory Committee member John Spinney underlined some of the concerns he voiced to selectmen last week.

"Four years of 100 percent exemption and us not even getting to 50 percent by year 11 really is not balanced and I would not accept this TIF the way it is presented and I would not go to Town Meeting and recommend this TIF the way it is presented until we get a little more balance on the structure of the exemption," Spinney said, who presented selectmen with an alternate TIF proposal last week.

Despite Spinney's concerns, officials chose to move forward with Invensys' plan as is.

"$1.8 million is a small amount but it is what makes it work for them," Paicos said of the money Invensys saves from the 15-year TIF agreement. "Frankly, we thought they’d ask for a lot more but they didn’t and we are happy.

"It was small dollars to the town. The risk that [less than a four-year exemption] would penetrate the margin, which would make it uneconomical for [Invensys]. Frankly, given what’s at stake here, we decided that was a fool’s mission and it was just plain silly to risk this over small dollars."

Paicos added that the TIF agreement doesn't come without protections for the town.

"We did not make the recommendation without protections," Paicos said. "What the town is gaining in economic benefit we want to make sure we are going to continue to get. Provisions are in agreement."

Those protections include:

• If agreement is not completed, TIF is not triggered.

• If Invensys loses 25 percent of its 900 jobs in Foxborough, the TIF is renegotiated.

• Company fails to meet any of its obligations in the agreement the town can seek decertification

"We are not taking this as a blind faith commitment," Paicos said. "If things don’t unfold the way we hope, the town has substantial rights to recapture that value."

What Selectmen Approved Tuesday ...

Selectmen approved the following four motions related to Invensys' TIF proposal Tuesday.

• Approved 38 Neponset Ave. and 70 Mechanic St. as the Invensys Economic Opportunity Area (EOA) for a period of 15 years and approve submission of application for approval of the Invensys EOA to the Massachusetts Economic Assistance Coordinated Council.

•  Recommend Town Meeting approve a proposed 15-year TIF plan in agreement between Invensys Systems and Foxborough for property located at 38 Neponset Ave. and 70 Mechanic St. and authorize for submission of the same to the MEACC.

•  Recommend Town Meeting approve a proposed 15-year TIF plan in agreement between Invensys and Foxborough for property 70 Mechanic St. and authorize for submission of the same to the MEACC.

•  Recommend Town Meeting approve the acceptance of the proposed certified project application by Invensys and authorize for submission of the same to the MEACC.

A Closer Look at the TIF Proposal and Future of Invensys in Foxborough

According to the proposal, the TIF would last 15 years and save Invensys a total of $1,880,944 while enabling the company to invest $33 million-worth of renovations to existing buildings and remain in Foxborough.

“The company currently occupies three underutilized and outdated locations in Foxborough,” said Invensys Senior Vice President Steve Sacco in a recent letter to Town Manager Kevin Paicos. “It has proposed plans to consolidate into two buildings to maximize efficiency and provide a more modern and attractive workspace for its employees.”

The total project investment is currently estimated at $33 million and the investment breakdown is as follows:

• $4 million for renovations at 38 Neponset Ave. building
• $26 million for renovations at the 70 Mechanic St. building
• $3 million for personal property

To read more on the future of Invensys in Foxborough, click here.