The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. board is expected to vote today on the staff review for Foxconn Technology Group to receive $2.85 billion in state tax credits.
Approving the staff review would clear the way for WEDC to execute a contract with the company, which plans to build a $10 billion LCD manufacturing campus in Mount Pleasant.
Board members have been able to review the contract since Monday, a departure from the agency’s typical procedure. Usually board members approve the staff review, which includes specifics about job creation targets, clawbacks and other requirements for receiving tax credits, and then WEDC staff executes a contract based on that document.
Critics of the deal, including Milwaukee Democrat Sen. Tim Carpenter, a WEDC board member, have been arguing the contract should be made public or that board members should at least review the contract before voting.
The WEDC reversed course after Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, the two highest ranking Republicans in the Legislature, said they also felt the board should review the contract.
Mark Hogan, WEDC secretary and chief executive officer, sent an email to board members Friday telling them they would get the contract Monday.
“While this is a departure from our normal procedure, because we are very close on the terms of a contract and because of the size of this award, Secretary Hogan decided it was appropriate to provide board members with the contract before Wednesday’s meeting,” WEDC spokesman Mark Maley said in an email Friday.
Board members did receive the contract on Monday. Carpenter has lamented the limited time available to review the document, but the Associated Press reported he feels the agency is working to protect taxpayers and previous issues had been addressed.
The newest WEDC board member and a gubernatorial candidate, Rep. Dana Wachs, D-Eau Claire, took to Twitter to criticize the contract’s length. He then began tweeting the titles of children’s books with more pages than the 29 page contract.
Getting the contract signed would be the last major step for the Foxconn project at the state level. Local officials are also working through their incentive package and have a Nov. 30 deadline.
Once the local package is finalized, the land acquisition process can start. The Racine County Economic Development Corp. plans to begin taking title on properties in early 2018. Foxconn is hoping to break ground on the project in the spring.
