DECATUR, Ind. — The Decatur City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to deny both the real property and personal property tax abatement compliance forms for Champion Homes after the company failed to meet its projected hiring numbers and skipped the municipal meeting.
The denial triggers an automatic one-year suspension of the company’s local tax abatements.
According to city records, the manufacturing facility reported 136 active employees between its manufacturing and automation divisions, falling significantly short of the 232 employees originally estimated on its application. Realized employee wages at the Decatur facility were also lower than initially projected.
Company officials blamed the low metrics on shifts in production demands, noting that a large portion of their manufacturing is tied directly to federal government contracts, such as housing for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which have not materialized as anticipated. The facility had also sat empty for a period of time before operations resumed.
Council members expressed severe frustration over the total absence of company leadership and local economic development officials at the meeting to address the shortfalls. Despite being notified of the meeting schedule as early as February or March, no representative from Champion Homes or the regional economic development corporation attended the public session.
Local officials emphasized that it is vital for businesses receiving taxpayer-funded benefits to be present to answer questions when their actual performance fails to match original development agreements.
While the council moved forward with the immediate financial penalty, officials noted that the one-year suspension allows Champion Homes the opportunity to file compliance forms again next year and potentially reinstate the tax benefits if employment metrics show improvement.