Sullivan County

Potentia Inc. (UK-based) announced a $65 billion data center project at Heartland Industrial Park, a 1,000+ acre site along US Route 41 near the Merom Generating Station in Sullivan County. Site preparation is underway with initial operations targeted for late 2026. Phase 1: $20 billion investment, 750 peak construction jobs, 125 permanent jobs. Phase 2: $45 billion, 2,000 peak construction jobs, 375 permanent. Total: 500 permanent jobs (technicians, engineers, facility managers). The data center will be powered by Hallador Energy's Merom coal plant (1,080 MW), with a 10+ year power delivery agreement signed January 2, 2025. Community enhancement agreement includes $50 million infrastructure investment and $50 million in community payments. Commissioners stated no tax abatements were exchanged. The county has no zoning — projects proceed without public hearing. Status: APPROVED / UNDER CONSTRUCTION (site prep).

HB 1405 (2019), signed May 5, 2019 by Gov. Eric Holcomb as Public Law 256. Codified at IC 6-1.1-10-44 (property tax exemption for enterprise IT equipment) and IC 6-2.5-15 (sales tax exemption for data center equipment). Created Indiana's data center tax incentive framework: sales tax exemptions on equipment and electricity, plus business personal property tax exemptions for qualifying data centers. Note: IC 6-1.1-12.3 (originally cited in some analyses) has been repealed; the active property tax provision is IC 6-1.1-10-44, as amended by P.L.256-2019, SEC.1.

HB 1405/P.L. 256 exempts: (1) Sales tax on data center equipment purchases — servers, storage, networking, cooling, backup power (IC 6-2.5-15-11); (2) Sales tax on electricity consumed by qualifying data centers; (3) Business personal property tax on enterprise IT equipment (IC 6-1.1-10-44) — duration set by local agreement between designating body and eligible business; (4) Sales tax certificate duration: 25 years (or 50 years if investment >= $750M) per IC 6-2.5-15-14. Qualifying thresholds are population-tiered (IC 6-2.5-15-10): $150M in counties >100K population, $100M in counties 50K-100K, $25M in counties <=50K. Investment must be met by 5th anniversary of certificate.

No formal rezoning vote required (no county zoning). Community enhancement agreement signed by commissioners:
- Robert A. Davis (District 1, President) — signatory
- Brant Ford (District 2) — absent (vacation) for at least one key meeting
- John Waterman (District 3) — signatory

Potentia Inc. $65 billion data center at Heartland Industrial Park:
- 1,000+ acres along US Route 41 near Merom Generating Station
- Phase 1: $20B investment, 750 peak construction, 125 permanent jobs
- Phase 2: $45B, 2,000 peak construction, 375 permanent
- Total: 500 permanent jobs (technicians, engineers, facility managers)
- Site prep underway, initial operations targeted late 2026
- Powered by Hallador Energy's Merom coal plant (1,080 MW)
- 10+ year power delivery agreement signed Jan 2, 2025

Community enhancement agreement:
- $50 million infrastructure investment (roads, bridges, transportation)
- $25 million community payment Phase 1 + $25 million Phase 2
- 15 acres donated for new county fire station
- $4.5 million charitable contributions (Brownbaggers School Food Program, Merom Camp and Retreat Center, Sullivan County Park and Lake)
Commissioners stated NO tax abatements or incentives were exchanged.

Commissioners stated no tax incentives, abatements, or tax breaks were exchanged. The $50M infrastructure + $50M community payments are direct contributions, not tax abatement arrangements.

500 permanent jobs: site technicians, engineers, facility managers, security professionals. Salaries described as "above regional average." 2,750 peak construction jobs across trades (electrical, plumbing, HVAC, steel, concrete).

$50 million for county road construction and transportation improvements. 15 acres donated for new county fire station.

No tax abatements exchanged per commissioners. Direct payments instead: $50M infrastructure + $50M community enhancement. However, state-level sales tax exemptions (HB 1405) may still apply — these are automatic, not locally granted.

Primary authors: Rep. Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso, HD 4) — still in office as of 2026; Sen. Jim Buck (R-Kokomo, SD 21); Sen. Ed Charbonneau (R-Valparaiso, SD 5); Sen. Travis Holdman (R-Markle, SD 19); Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Salem, HD 47) — now U.S. Representative IN-9; Sen. Mark Messmer (R-Jasper, SD 48); Sen. Lonnie Randolph (D-East Chicago, SD 2) — Lake County. Co-authors: Rep. Earl Harris Sr. (D-East Chicago, HD 2) — Lake County; Rep. Todd Huston (R-Fishers, HD 37); Rep. Carolyn Jackson (D-Hammond, HD 1) — Lake County; Rep. Matthew Lehman (R-Berne, HD 79); Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie, HD 20) — LaPorte County. Note: 3 of 12 sponsors represent Lake County districts.

House initial passage: 95-1 (Feb 19, 2019). Senate passage: 46-0 (Mar 25, 2019). Conference committee report adopted: House 82-8 (Apr 18, 2019), Senate 44-0 (Apr 18, 2019). Signed by Governor: May 5, 2019. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in all votes.

No formal rezoning vote — Sullivan County has no zoning in unincorporated areas. Sullivan County Commissioners signed road and community enhancement agreements with Potentia Inc./Heartland Industrial Park developers. Bob Davis (Board President) appointed himself as Redevelopment Commission Chair.

No formal rezoning vote required (no county zoning). Community enhancement agreement signed by commissioners:
- Robert A. Davis (District 1, President) — signatory
- Brant Ford (District 2) — absent (vacation) for at least one key meeting
- John Waterman (District 3) — signatory

Dozens of residents attended commissioners meeting. Key concerns:
- Water usage and grid impacts
- Fear of MORE data centers following the first one
- NDA secrecy (consultant Jack Hammerman: "I am under an NDA with my client")
- Resident: "Why is it that they have these NDAs for projects that ultimately affects the entire community?"
- Infrastructure upgrade costs — who bears them?
- Coal plant pollution (Merom has history of pollution violations)

Sullivan County Commissioners meet 1st and 3rd Mondays at 7:00 PM.
Website: sullivancounty.in.gov/commissioners/

TWO SEPARATE STATUTES, TWO DIFFERENT ANSWERS:

PROPERTY TAX (IC 6-1.1-10-44): NO clawback mechanism. The statute authorizes a local "designating body" (county or municipality) to enter an agreement granting a property tax exemption. The eligible business must invest $25M+ and pay wages at 125% of county average (Sec. 44(b)(3)-(4)). However, the statute contains NO enforcement, recapture, or penalty provision if these conditions are later unmet. The only protection would be terms negotiated into the local agreement itself — the statute does not require any.

SALES TAX (IC 6-2.5-15): LIMITED enforcement via noncompliance assessment. Section 15 requires an agreement with IEDC including annual reporting of taxes not paid. Section 18 provides: if IEDC determines a company is noncompliant with the agreement or chapter requirements, IEDC notifies the Dept. of Revenue, which MAY impose an assessment up to the total taxes exempted plus interest and penalties. The trigger is failing to meet the "qualified data center" definition (Sec. 10) — i.e., not reaching the investment threshold by the 5th anniversary.

CRITICAL OMISSIONS: Neither statute requires job creation targets, community benefit commitments, water use limits, renewable energy use, or any ongoing performance metrics beyond the initial investment threshold. There are no wage requirements in the sales tax statute. The property tax statute has a 125% county average wage requirement but no mechanism to enforce it after the exemption is granted. The first economic impact study (Sec. 20) is not due until 2030 — 11 years after the law passed.

2026 session reform bills: (1) HB 1210 (Rep. Ed Soliday, R) — PASSED, weakened. Original: data centers pay fair share of electricity costs. Senate version: $5M/year savings to ratepayers. Final (after private meetings with industry): 1% electricity savings, capped at $350K/year. Signed into law. (2) HB 1333 (Rep. Beau Baird, R) — DIED. Would have protected farmland from data center conversion by requiring agricultural zoning protections. (3) HB 1245 (Rep. Matt Pierce, D) — DIED. Would have required IURC to study data center electricity impacts on ratepayers. (4) SB 257 (Sen. Chris Garten, R-Charlestown) — DIED. Would have protected residential ratepayers from bearing data center infrastructure costs. (5) SB 79 (Sen. J.D. Ford, D-Indianapolis) — status unclear. Would require data centers to disclose water and electricity consumption. (6) HB 1043 — Would require DNR water consumption permit for large data centers. 2025 session: HB 1007 — ENACTED. Requires data centers to commit to paying 80% of generation costs for electricity. Pattern: 5 of 6 reform bills in 2026 died. The one that passed (HB 1210) was weakened from $5M/year to $350K/year in closed-door meetings.

No. Indiana does NOT require state-level environmental impact review for data center projects. There is no state EIS/EIR process equivalent to NEPA for private data center construction. Permits required: IDEM air permits for diesel backup generators (Title V or minor source); NPDES water discharge permits; stormwater permits. These are standard industrial permits, not data-center-specific review. Local ordinances are filling the void: Lake County (Aug 2025) adopted a data center ordinance requiring noise limits, setbacks, energy efficiency plans, water management plans, and decommission plans. Kosciusko County (Feb 2025) classified data centers as "exceptional use" requiring special permits. These are LOCAL responses to the absence of state-level requirements.

No. Indiana does NOT require data centers to report water consumption or use renewable energy. No existing statute or regulation mandates either. SB 79 (2026, Sen. J.D. Ford, D) would have required water and electricity consumption disclosure — status unclear/likely died. HB 1043 (2026) would have required a DNR water consumption permit for facilities using large volumes — status unclear/likely died. For context: IU Environmental Resilience Institute reports US data centers consumed 17.4 billion gallons of water in 2023, expected to double by 2028. A single hyperscale campus requires 200+ acres, 100+ MW of power (equivalent to 80,000 homes), and millions of gallons of water annually for cooling. Indiana is projected to need 426 TWh of data center electricity by 2030 — "more electricity than all 6.8 million Hoosier households today" (IU ERI).

Powered by Hallador Energy's Merom Generating Station — a two-unit, 1,080 MW coal-fired plant. Data center will receive "majority of the output" for 10+ years at prices "higher than the forward curve." Hallador paid up to $5M for exclusivity ($1M Jan, $2M Mar, $2M Jun 2025). This keeps a coal plant operational that might otherwise have closed — Merom has a history of pollution violations and activists have long pushed for its closure.

Potentia claims closed-loop cooling system, ~60,000 gallons/day freshwater consumption (equivalent to ~200 homes). 500 acres of the 1,000-acre site contain protected wetlands.

- Potentia Inc.: "This initiative is not just about compute capacity; it is about building a global infrastructure backbone while respecting the land and people of the Wabash Valley."
- Bob Davis (Commissioner President): "We may be talking for years" before public announcements
- Jack Hammerman (consultant): "I am under an NDA with my client"
- Deann Talley: "There's no zoning in the county. So whatever a private individual does with their land is up to that private individual"

- Robert A. Davis (District 1, President): term ends 12/31/2026
- Brant Ford (District 2): term ends 12/31/2028
- John Waterman (District 3): term ends 12/31/2028

1st and 3rd Mondays at 7:00 PM
Sullivan County Courthouse, 100 Court House Sq, Sullivan, IN 47882
Phone: (812) 268-5677

1. The county has NO ZONING — any private landowner can host a data center without public hearing. Demand the county adopt data center-specific zoning regulations.
2. The data center will be powered by a COAL PLANT (Merom, 1,080 MW). Demand an environmental impact study and air quality monitoring. Merom has a history of pollution violations.
3. Residents' main fear is MORE data centers following this one. Ask: are there additional proposals? What limits exist?
4. $65B project negotiated under NDAs — demand full public disclosure of all agreements.
5. Davis's term ends Dec 2026 — ask candidates about data center oversight.
6. Contact state legislators about SB 257 and HB 1245.

County Assessor Michele Bedwell — Sullivan County Assessor's Office
The assessor sets your property's assessed value using mass appraisal, sales comparisons, and annual trending. When assessed values go up across the county, everyone's bill goes up — even if no one voted for a tax increase. Indiana law requires assessments at 100% of market value.

What you can do: File an assessment appeal. The first step is an informal conference with the assessor's office. If denied, appeal to the Sullivan County Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals (PTABOA), then to the Indiana Board of Tax Review (IBTR). Deadline: 45 days after the Form 11 notice. Call the Assessor's office: (812) 268-4491 (County Auditor line — the assessor works in the same courthouse).

School Boards — the single largest piece of every property tax bill in Indiana. Statewide, school corporations consume 42 cents of every property tax dollar. Sullivan County has three school corporations:

• Sullivan County Northeast School Corp — Jon Bobbitt, Danny Case, Jeri Greve, Kara Harris, Ashley Trench
• Sullivan County Southwest School Corp — Mitzie Badger, Mike Eslinger, Kevin Arnett, Barb Rotramel, Jerry Wilson
• Dugger Union Community School Corp — Jim Stringer, Kyle Foli, Carri Howard, Gina Lovelace, Kylee Knoepfle

School boards approve annual budgets and can place operating referenda and construction bonds on the ballot. These add to your levy even above the circuit breaker cap. School board elections are your single highest-leverage property tax vote.

Sullivan County Council — the fiscal body that votes on the county budget and sets the county tax levy:

• Matt Chickadaunce (At-Large) — [email protected]
• Jackie Monk (At-Large)
• Wes Scarbrough (At-Large)
• Logan Pearison (District 1)
• Jeffrey Scales (District 2)
• Mitchell Ferree (District 3)
• Mark Hiatt (District 4) — [email protected]

The council holds public budget hearings every fall (September–October). This is when levies are set. Attend these hearings. Call the County Auditor's office for dates: (812) 268-4491.

Sullivan County Commissioners — the executive body that sets spending priorities and manages county operations. They don't set the levy directly (the council does), but their spending decisions drive what the council has to fund:

• Robert Davis (District 1) — [email protected], (812) 268-5677
• Brant Ford (District 2) — (812) 268-5677
• John Waterman Sr (District 3) — (812) 268-5677

Township Trustees set township budgets for fire protection, poor relief, and other local services. Small share, but it's the layer closest to you. Sullivan County has 10 townships:

• Cass Twp: Todd Talpas (812) 648-2452
• Curry Twp: Brenda Howard (812) 397-5554
• Fairbanks Twp: Cathy Halberstadt (812) 394-2452
• Gill Twp: Linda Land
• Haddon Twp: Marsha Earley / Brittany Souders
• Hamilton Twp: Dee Fulford (812) 268-6622
• Jackson Twp: Tony Samm
• Jefferson Twp: Lonnie Todd (812) 659-2340
• Turman Twp: Travis McKinney (812) 382-4409

Township budgets are also subject to public hearing. Your township trustee is directly accountable to you.

County Auditor Amy Scarbrough — (812) 268-4491
County Treasurer Stephanie Goodman — (812) 268-6410

The auditor applies your homestead deduction, mortgage deduction, over-65 deductions, and other credits. If you're not getting every deduction you qualify for, that's money left on the table. Call the auditor to verify your deductions are applied. The treasurer collects payment.

The Indiana General Assembly sets the property tax framework — circuit breaker caps (1% homestead / 2% rental / 3% other), the maximum levy growth quotient (MLGQ, set at 4% for 2025), homestead deduction rules, and assessment standards. Sullivan County's state legislators:

• Sen. Eric Bassler (SD 39) — [email protected], (317) 232-9400
• Rep. Bruce Borders (HD 45) — [email protected], (317) 232-9647

In 2025, the legislature passed SEA 1 (property tax reform): phasing out the standard homestead deduction over 5 years (by 2031), raising the supplemental deduction from 37.5% to 66.7%, and adding a new 10% homestead credit (capped at $300). These changes will shift the tax burden. Contact your legislators if you believe these reforms don't go far enough — or go too far.

Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) — the state agency that reviews every local budget, certifies net assessed values, and calculates final tax rates by dividing approved levies by assessed values. They issue the annual Sullivan County Budget Order (January each year).

DLGF Sullivan County page: in.gov/dlgf — Sullivan County
DLGF main: (317) 232-3777

Gov. Mike Braun — (317) 232-4567
Signs or vetoes property tax legislation. Braun ran on property tax relief and pushed the 2025 reforms. If legislative changes don't materialize into actual relief, the governor's office is the final escalation.