State won't say how much Apple will receive in incentives

Kevin Hardy
The Des Moines Register

If history is any indicator, Apple Inc. could stand to rake in millions in taxpayer incentives from state leaders working to lure a new data center to Waukee. 

Data centers built by Facebook, Google and Microsoft in recent years have received large incentive packages. 

If history is any indicator, Apple Inc. could stand to rake in millions in taxpayer incentives from state leaders working to lure a new data center to Waukee.

Data center experts say tech companies like building their server warehouses here because of Iowa's available land, relatively cheap renewable energy, access to high-speed fiber optic cables and the low risk of earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Iowa also boasts a statewide program that provides sales tax rebates for equipment such as computer servers.

MORE: Apple is latest tech giant drawn to Iowa

The Iowa Economic Development Authority hasn't released any details about the incentive package its board will vote on Thursday morning. Agency spokeswoman Tina Hoffman said specifics were still being finalized Wednesday afternoon.

Waukee, likewise, isn't sharing what incentives it will provide Apple. Awards of state incentives require a match from local governments. 

As of press time, the city had not responded to a records request or a reporter's request for comment.

Randy Evans, executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, said those actions may not break the state's open meeting law, but they don't meet the spirit of it.

"The public is completely shut out of the process," he said. 

While economic development officials are entitled to keep some information confidential during negotiations with companies, Evans said taxpayers should know what incentives are going to companies prior to a vote by the state board or a city council.

"The resources that are being made available to Apple belong to the people of Iowa. They don’t belong to the members of the economic development board or the members of the Waukee City Council," Evans said. "It's not going to bring the economy of the state to its knees to share some of these details before the decisions are made."

Margaret Johnson, director of the Iowa Public Information Board, said government boards don't have to circulate board packets or any materials other than agendas.

But some school boards, city councils and state bodies circulate packets that contain supporting documents being deliberated.

Those documents are public records, but the government body is not required to release them on any kind of regular cycle, she said. 

"The board’s position is the more information you can provide to the public, the more transparent you are, the better you are going to be in fulfilling the spirit of the law," Johnson said. "From a practical standpoint, do you want people to be paying attention to the decisions you're making, to your stewardship, or do you want them to be focusing on how honest you're being?"

Apple received $89 million in state and local property tax abatements for a $1 billion data center in Reno, Nev., the Reno Gazette-Journal reported. The value of those incentives was expected to rise with an expansion announced in May that will double the company's investment there.

No details have been released about Apple's deals with Iowa and Waukee economic development officials. But here's what we know about previous data centers:

  • The Iowa Economic Development Authority board awarded Google more than $36 million in tax incentives for its Council Bluffs data center and a subsequent expansion project there. Google has invested some $2.5 billion in its four-story data center. 
  • Microsoft has raked in more than $45 million in state incentives for its three West Des Moines data centers. When construction is complete, the company will have invested about $4 billion in the suburb. The city has provided $65 million worth of infrastructure for Microsoft, including roads, power lines and sewers. 
  • The state awarded Facebook $18 million in tax credits for its Altoona data center, with another $8 million awarded this year for an expansion. The city provided a 100 percent, 20-year property tax abatement. Facebook's fourth building there, which broke ground in May, expands the social media giant's footprint to about 2.5 million square feet and its Altoona investment to about $1.5 billion.