Wolverine Worldwide is getting a tax break from the City of Big Rapids. The City Council approved an Industrial Facilities Exemption Certificate for the company at Monday's Council meeting. Part of the agreement for the tax break is improved trees for the streets, which has been completed, and improving the parking lot at Fourth Avenue and Baldwin Street, which is currently under way. Wolverine spokesperson Gail Taylor says tax abatement will help them improve the parking lot even faster.

 

She notes that Wolverine Worldwide is a global company that considers the Big Rapids operation as a small stand-alone facility. And, even though they signed a $27 million contract last year to make military footwear, which prompted the warehouse expansion, there's not a lot in it for the corporation.

 

“There's very little to zero profit in military footwear. All the money that we make goes towards improving the facility and our community,” she says.

 

Big Rapids City Manager Mark Gifford adds the tax break is not as big as it may seem.

 

“Wolverine will not have to pay those portion of taxes on their new addition, not the whole facility. It's just the addition portion.”

 

He says the City needs to work with Wolverine as part of the community.

 

“Tax abatements are really the only tool that a community has to be able to offer to an industry partner like Wolverine.”

 

Gifford says another condition of the tax abatement agreement is adding new jobs at the facility.