To the editor:

Finally. After having a tax abatement policy in effect since August 1993, we are only now receiving the kind of data we should have been reviewing all along to determine if firms receiving abatements are in compliance with the projections their abatements were based on.

I applaud the efforts of the members of the new Public Incentives Review Committee for finally taking seriously the charge to conduct a thorough annual review of tax abatements in force, rather than just rubber-stamping a meaningless report as the previous Tax Abatement Review Committee always did.

Had the previous review committee taken their job seriously, they should have discovered that Davol was receiving a tax abatement but never appeared on the annual report. How unfortunate for us that Davol is leaving town now that their tax abatement has ended. We really must consider modifying our new tax abatement policy to include protection for the community for situations such as this.

Yes, many residents have questioned the necessity of offering tax abatements in the past. This current review might explain why. When we are told, as we have been time and again, that “we simply must offer tax abatements to remain competitive,” then the corollary also holds true: we must do an effective job monitoring the abatements that are granted. If we don’t, it’s not fair to the taxpayers and it’s especially not fair to those businesses who have received abatements and are holding up their end of the bargain.

Melinda Henderson,

Lawrence