Commissioners did not discuss the termination at the meeting, although Precinct 1 Commissioner Robert Walker—whose precinct covers Conroe Industrial Park North—was absent along with Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley due to a training, according to County Judge Mark Keough.
Old Dominion Freight Line specializes in LTL shipping, or trucking that involves loads lighter than a full truckload. The Virginia company reported a 14.8% increase in its LTL revenue—up to $1.5 million from $1.3 million—compared to 2021 at the end of the third quarter, according to an earnings release.
Montgomery County Tax Assessor-Collector Tammy McRae said the freight company was in violation of the terms of its 2019 abatement, which required it to have 45 employees on-site from December 2019-22 and 85 by December 2023 onwards.
According to the 2019 abatement document, Old Dominion’s abatement was meant to run until 2027. Per the schedule of tax abatement, the company had 100% of its taxes waived in 2020 and 2021 and 80% waived in 2022.
Tax abatement revision
The termination of the Old Dominion abatement continues a trend of the county terminating agreements with companies that were agreed on before the COVID-19 pandemic due to companies being unable to meet worker requirements. At an Oct. 11 Commissioners Court meeting, Walker and Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack were assigned to update the county’s tax abatement guidelines as scheduled every two years.
According to the Texas Tax Code Chapter 312, tax abatements are an agreement between taxing units, such as Montgomery County, and taxpayers that exempts the taxpayer from the increase in value of property for up to 10 years. The Texas comptroller’s website describes tax abatements as tools to “attract new industries and to encourage the retention and development of existing businesses through property tax exemptions or reductions.”
Two individual abatements were proposed for termination at the Oct. 11 meeting with the county terminating its agreement with Bauer Manufacturing—also in Conroe Industrial Park North—and moving forward with proceedings to terminate an abatement with Alight Solutions in The Woodlands.
In July, the county terminated an abatement with Newpark Industrial for its own Conroe Industrial Park building, although the abatements had already expired. Newpark confirmed it was planning to sell the property, which was valued at $13.47 million in July, according to the Montgomery Central Appraisal District.
