Microsoft data center

Democratic St. Joseph County Council President Bryan Tanner worries a data center ban could trigger lawsuits from developers that will increase the county's legal costs. But Republican Council Member Amy Drake says he's being too cautious on the issue.

Democratic St. Joseph County Council President Bryan Tanner says he sees how unpopular data centers are with his constituents but he says council members' first priority should be to follow Indiana laws.

The nonprofit We Make Indiana on Thursday said it's wrong for a wealthy corporation like Microsoft to receive tax breaks while a growing number of people across Michiana are struggling.

We Make Indiana organizers say that since the Indiana General Assembly has exempted data centers from paying sales tax, they should spend some of their hundreds of millions of dollars in tax savings to help meet the growing needs of citizens in St. Joseph County.

While the Amazon and Microsoft data centers are coming, the St. Joseph County Council now seems to have majority support for a ban on new hyperscale data centers.

St. Joseph County is managing the water extension project and Microsoft is paying for it, and then the city of Mishawaka will assume ownership and maintenance of the new water lines.

Republicans on the St. Joseph County Council are calling for a two-year data center moratorium, while Democrats and the business community say that would jeopardize local control on major land use projects and close the door to future economic growth.

St. Joseph County economic development director Bill Schalliol Aug. 25 will seek county council approval to create a tax incremental financing district at and around the Granger Microsoft data center site.

Four Republican St. Joseph County Council members are asking Amazon Web Services to voluntarily pay into a fund that would give homeowners property tax relief, despite the council granting the tech giant an abatement in August 2024.

Although Microsoft isn't seeking a property tax break, St. Joseph County economic development director Bill Schalliol says the county is still asking the tech giant to pay for new water and sewer lines to spur growth in Granger beyond the data center.