ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996                  TAG: 9606280026
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: 4    EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER 

TAXPAYERS AREN'T ALWAYS TOLD WHAT THEY'RE PAYING

When Reynolds Metals Co. in Richmond announced a $35 million wheel factory in Russell County earlier this month, there was plenty for the public to see.

More than 30 people stood in a row with shovels for a ceremonial groundbreaking. The presence of so many top officials suggested the significance of the announcement, which was considered the largest private investment in the county since the 1950s.

What was unseen was the cost of the deal to taxpayers. Those in the know either declined to discuss the matter or were too busy celebrating to reveal the full story.

The Reynolds project provides an extreme example of how circumstances can combine to shield key information from the public.

A representative of Richmond-based Reynolds, reached by telephone a few hours after the June 14 announcement, declined to answer when asked whether incentives were promised to the company and, if so, what they were.

"I don't know we're going to be willing to discuss that. ... We have nothing to gain," said company spokesman Joseph Vagi. "That's sort of considered private information."

Vagi was not swayed when told taxpayers were going to foot the bill.

A press release from state officials contained nothing about incentives; the state's $400,000 grant to the project was approved the same day, and local incentives were left to local officials to announce.

Local officials didn't prepare a written statement, because they had more than enough to do orchestrating the announcement of the factory, which is expected to provide 125 new jobs, said Jim Gillespie, Russell County administrator.

And yet, Russell County's industrial development authority pledged $1.9 million toward factory construction. If the plant expands, which Gillespie said is likely, local taxpayers will forgive an estimated $6 million in taxes, he said. An expansion is expected to create 300 more jobs.

In the Roanoke Valley, government officials have a history of revealing incentives when asked but do not go out of their way to get the information out. No agency tracks what valley governments spend as a group. The state tracks its expenditures only. For that reason, no one can say what Virginia spends on incentives.

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