Bedford County denies industrial-park KOZs

BEDFORD - Of the three Bedford County commissioners, only Steve Howsare was in favor of a motion Tuesday to create new Keystone Opportunity Zones in four areas of the county.

KOZs are commercial areas with no tax obligations for up to 10 years. They are generally used to entice a business or company to an area.

The motion, if approved, would have created KOZs in industrial parks in Bedford Township, Hyndman Borough, East Providence Township and Everett.

Previous zones expired last year, and Bedford County Development Association Executive Director Bette Slayton was seeking to create new ones. Slayton said she had gotten approval from the municipalities and school boards involved.

Commissioner Gary Ebersole and Chairman Michael Herline told Slayton Tuesday that they could not approve the resolution, contending it is unfair for a company to get a "freebie" while residents of the county are paying taxes and currently are dealing with reassessment.

"Companies should be responsible and at the same time willing to help the local county," Ebersole said.

Howsare said companies such as REI would not have picked Bedford County for their plants and facilities without the added KOZ element offered to them.

"I feel we're handcuffing our economic development group by not supporting this," he said.

Slayton said she was disappointed by the board's lack of approval, especially as the county faced tough economic times.

"REI is the perfect example," she said. "KOZ is what they look at first when they look at the state of Pennsylvania. We won't even get a time at bat."

"If a company is only coming here to avoid paying taxes, we ought to look at the company," Ebersole said. "The tax freebie is gone. Everybody has to pay their fair share."

Slayton said she would continue with what is available in the county to lure businesses.

"But it's going to be very hard now," she said.

Mirror Staff Writer Wendy McCardle is at 946-7520.