Local officials need reliable, predictablerevenue streams to make smart investments in services, education, equipment, and infrastructure as well as to save for a rainy day. Circle Power has said consistently that the Project would be willing to guarantee local property taxes in the form of a legally binding agreement. We made good on that promise by presenting a contract called a Property Tax Guaranty to each of the Townships.

Circle Power shared property tax estimatestotaling $12.4 million to be paid locally over 30 years. The $12.4 milliontotal is comprised of taxes paid to Dickinson County, Norway Township, Norway Vulcan-Area Schools (debt fund), Felch Township, Sagola Township, North Dickinson County Schools (sinking fund/bond) and the Dickinson-Iron Intermediate School District. The $12.4 million total does not include property taxes that do not result in local tax receipts, such as the State Education Tax.

Property Tax Guaranties are simpleagreements. Each Township’s contract has a schedule of annual minimum property tax payments to be made by the Project over 30 years. The annual minimum payments in all three contracts add up to $12.4 million. Each year, the project pays the greater of the minimum payment in the schedule or the actualproperty taxes assessed. Given this structure, the $12.4 million is a minimum of the aggregate payments to the local entities listed above. Ifproperty taxes exceed the minimum payments, the actual total will be greater than $12.4 million. Aggregate payments cannot be lower than $12.4 million per the contracts.

The Property Tax Guaranties are intended toprevent a future owner from challenging personal property tax assessments to reduce local property taxes, and also to insulate the townships from future disadvantageous changes to the tax rules that apply to how solar projects are taxed.

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