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Regular Council Meeting <br />November 16, 2015 <br />Page 14 <br />Member Clifford said the City of Paris, Lamar County, PJC and the PEDC were all acting as if a <br />warehouse had been built, when in fact it had not. Council Member Clifford said he saw no <br />rational reason according to the contracts that taxes could have possibly been abated in 2012 or <br />2013, because there was not a single contract to justify it. Council Member Frierson said this <br />entire conversation should have been addressed with the taxing entities and Paris Warehouse <br />107, instead of trying to point fingers at everyone else. Council Member Clifford said he wanted <br />an explanation for why the contract changed and why they had contradictions. Council Member <br />Pickle said they did not know. Council Member Clifford said they did know, because they had <br />the minutes from the PEDC meeting, they had the agenda information sheet from the City <br />Council, and knew that the 30 new employees that were mandated disappeared from the contract. <br />He said that was a fact, because that was what was contained in the documents. Council <br />Member Frierson said this was asinine and should have not been done in public. Council <br />Member Pickle said part of the problem was compliance and he had recommended several <br />months ago that compliance be turned over to the city attorney. <br />Council Member Clifford made a motion that the city council instruct the Lamar County <br />Appraisal District to immediately assess all taxes and interest that was inappropriately abated in <br />2012 and 2013 including taxes owed to the City of Paris, Lamar County, and PJC. Mr. Harper <br />questioned why they did not use the contract and assess all taxes for the entire abatement period. <br />He said that would get it all cleaned up at one time and if they owed, they would write a check <br />and if the City owed, the City could write them a check. He said he thought that was fair. <br />Mayor Hashmi asked Council Member Clifford if he wanted to amend his motion. Council <br />Member Clifford questioned why they would instruct assessment for 2012 and 2013, when there <br />was no contractual support that those years needed to be assessed. <br />Council Member Lancaster seconded Council Member Clifford's motion and Mayor <br />Hashmi asked if there was additional discussion. <br />Council Member Plata said he agreed with Council Member Frierson, in that this <br />discussion should not have come before the public. Council Member Pickle asked that Council <br />Clifford amend his motion to address the entire contract rather than just pick out the items that he <br />thinks that they are in error, because reflecting the entire contract would be fair to show there <br />was no agenda. Mr. Harper said they all of them needed to sit down, figure out what went wrong <br />and then it should be fixed. Council Member Lancaster said she was very concerned about a lot <br />of things and that she did not have a personal grudge against the Harpers at all. She also said the <br />Harpers had done good things for the community, but that she wanted to make sure that they <br />were doing the tax abatements correctly. <br />Mayor Hashmi asked Council Member Clifford if he wanted to amend his motion and <br />Council Member Clifford said no, because the 2012 and 2013 abatements had no basis in any <br />contract. Mayor Hashmi said Mr. Harper was saying if you are going to go back and ask for a <br />refund on taxes for 2012 and 2013, that you should follow the entire contract. What he is asking <br />you is if you're going to go and ask for a refund on taxes on 12 and 13 that you follow the entire <br />contract. Council Member Clifford said they needed to follow the contract and that the contract <br />