(Spirit Lake) – The Spirit Lake City Council is throwing their support behind a potential expansion at Polaris Industries. A unanimous 5-0 vote by council members approved a resolution in which the city will participate with Polaris in seeking financial assistance from the state’s Department of Economic Development.
The final package put together by the city includes a $29,000 forgivable loan, as well as a tax abatement during the time of expansion. That aspect would reduce the property taxes paid by Polaris for no more than five years. Stevens says there was no hesitation on the part of the city as a result of Polaris’ upstanding commitment to the region.
Polaris hopes the initial expansion brings with it about 30 new positions, with more to come following the introduction of new product lines in the Spirit Lake plant.
A unanimous vote was also cast last night to approve the proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The key aspect to the new budget is the maintaining of the current tax levy from the current year.
It will mark the fourth year in a row that the property tax levy rate will be at $10.54 per thousand dollars. Stevens described the new budget as a maintenance budget that also includes measures for some minor improvements to parks and facilities.
