Amarillo City Council saw two split votes during their most recent meeting.

The first item to see a split vote was 9A. According to an agenda memo provided by the city, the item was “a resolution of support for an application for Affordable Housing Program funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank in Dallas by Estacado Estates, LP., a private entity, to construct a rental housing development at S.W. 58th and S. Washington.” The item passed with a 4 to 1 vote, with Councilman Tom Scherlen voting against.

The item was closely linked with 9B, which, according to the city, was “a Resolution of continuing support for Estacado Estates, L.P., a private entity, and their partnership with the Panhandle Regional Housing and Finance Corporation to apply for Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs tax credits.” Item 9B would have helped the developer seek a property tax exemption for the project. That item was postponed with a unanimous vote after it was discovered that the attached resolution was simply a copy of the resolution for 9A.

The other split vote came with the last item on the agenda, 9F. That item was for the creation of a 20-acre reinvestment zone on South Georgia Street. According to Deputy City Manager Andrew Freeman, the zone would be “for a prospective manufacturing facility.” Creating the zone, Freeman noted, is a prerequisite for offering a tax abatement. The abatement itself is expected to be brought to the council at their next regular meeting.

Councilman Tom Scherlen noted he was skeptical of the way the city did tax abatements. “My opinion is, if our AEDC wants to give a tax abatement, which they recommend, I would rather see them pay that money theirself instead of putting this burden on taxpayer.”

During a public hearing on the item, former Amarillo Economic Development Corporation Board member Craig Gualtiere expressed his opposition to tax abatements. “I’m 100% against a reinvestment zone,” said Gualtiere. “We’re picking winners and losers when it comes to taxes. All the people in this room, we don’t get tax abatements. But, we give them to the rich and we need to stop that.”

Gualtiere had also spoken during the earlier public comment portion of the meeting, where he expressed concerns including the AEDC travel policy, the compensation of employees, and the lack of a written evaluation for President & CEO Kevin Carter.

The item eventually passed with a 3 to 2 vote, with Councilmen Tom Scherlen and Josh Craft voting against.