By Ashley Fletcher Frampton
aframpton@scbiznews.com
Published Dec. 14, 2009
Charleston County could issue $76 million in bonds and lend that money to The Boeing Co. for construction of its North Charleston facility.
The $76 million is part of a financial incentive package that Charleston County Council members have twice approved in recent weeks. However, council members and county staff have kept secret some of the specifics, such as the actual amount of money they would make available to Boeing.
The amount was made public through information published with an agenda for Tuesday’s meeting of the S.C. Budget and Control Board. The board will vote on the county’s proposed sale of bonds.
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Charleston County officials have said some incentive details were kept under wraps because they weren’t yet final. But they said details would be made public before the third and final vote on the package, which is scheduled for Dec. 22.
According to the Budget & Control Board information, the $76 million in special-source revenue bonds to be issued by Charleston County would be available to the Chicago based company for “acquisition, constructing and equipping of a manufacturing facility for the final assembly of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner (and related activities).”
Steve Dykes, the county’s economic development director, previously has said that the county’s incentive package included special-source revenue bonds. He explained that the county would borrow money for Boeing to use for upfront construction costs, and Boeing would cover the debt service on that loan with an annual payment to the county.
The annual payment would come under a fee-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement that allows Boeing to pay a negotiated fee instead of regular property taxes, Dykes has said.
Officials said speeding up of the approval process, including keeping some details secret, was important because Boeing is in a hurry to get started on its second assembly line.
Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner program has faced delays, but the company says the new airplane could make its first test flight on Tuesday.
The aircraft manufacturer completed high-speed taxi tests at its airfield near Seattle on Saturday. They were the last in a series of functional tests in preparation for the first flight of the plane that will be manufactured at Boeing’s new North Charleston plant.
Also included as part of the county’s financial incentive package:
- Designation of Boeing as part of a multicounty industrial park, allowing for an income tax credit of $1,500 per job per year, on top of the $1,000-per-job income tax credit offered by the state.
- A $5 million grant from the S.C. Department of Commerce for site preparation work. The county has voted to apply for and accept that grant for Boeing.
Members of the State Budget & Control Board, which should vote on the revenue bonds on Tuesday, are Gov. Mark Sanford, State Treasurer Converse Chellis, Comptroller-General Richard Eckstrom, Sen. Hugh Leatherman and Rep. Dan Cooper.
Reach Ashley Fletcher Frampton at 843-849-3129.
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