Donnelley receives tax abatement

By Ashlee Hoos | KPC Media - Herald Republican

A resolution for a 10-year tax abatement for R.R. Donnelley, 611 W. Mill St., was approved Monday by the Angola Common Council, but not without some discussion among council members.

R.R. Donnelley will be installing new manufacturing equipment and creating three new jobs, each paying around $22 an hour.

Councilman Gary Crum said he’s never been a fan of approving the 10 year abatements. He feels it cuts into the money the police and fire departments would receive, no matter how much or how little.

“It’s still setting a precedent,” he said. “We need to rethink these abatements and how it affects us.”

Councilwoman Kathy Armstrong said while she agrees with Crum, it was her and Councilman Dave Olson who started the “seemingly rubber stamp” abatements.

“R.R. Donnelley is willing to invest in the employees,” she said.

Armstrong and Mayor Dick Hickman agreed, saying these new jobs aren’t the low-wage $9 or $10 an hour jobs. Each has a desire for more employers to pay the wage that R.R. Donnelley is.

“It sets the precedent of what we want,” said Hickman.

Councilman Joe Hysong said he’d like Angola to be the place businesses want to come to.

The council voted unanimously to approve the resolution for the abatement.