The Saline Township Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a tax break for the Oracle data center, but limited it to the roughly $4.8 billion project value listed in the application attached to the township’s consent judgment.
Oracle America Cloud Services LLC had requested the exemption based on a total investment of about $43.1 billion.
The motion also included a clawback provision, although details were not immediately clear Tuesday night.
The vote followed an extended public comment period, with Saline Township residents, Washtenaw County commissioners and speakers from other Michigan communities urging the board to reject the application, seek another legal opinion or hold the developer to the value originally presented to the township.
Before public comment, Supervisor Tom Hammond read a legal summary prepared by Dave Landry, the attorney representing the township in the data center litigation. The summary warned that denying the exemption could violate the consent judgment and expose the township to significant financial damages.
Trustee Dean Marion initially moved to approve the exemption as presented. For a moment, no one offered support.
“I can’t,” Trustee Gary Luckhardt said, breaking the silence and drawing applause from the crowd.
Luckhardt, who was appointed to the board six days earlier, said speakers had raised good points and given him more to consider.
“At the end of the day, I have to sleep at night,” he said.
Marion then offered a new motion limiting the exemption to roughly $4.8 billion. Treasurer Beth Boulter requested that a clawback provision be added. The amended motion passed 5-0.
A full article on the meeting is coming soon.
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