Dr. Barry Keating Advocates for Comprehensive Data Center Contracts in Local Governance
Dr. Barry Keating, Professor Emeritus at the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame and an adjunct scholar of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation, highlights the critical need for complete contracts when municipalities negotiate with data center companies. He uses the example of New Carlisle, Indiana, where an $11-billion Amazon data center campus deal involved town council members signing non-disclosure agreements, preventing residents from knowing the terms until the deal was largely finalized. The terms included a 10-year, 50-percent abatement on real property taxes and an 85 percent exemption on enterprise technology equipment for 35 years. Dr. Keating argues that such incomplete contracts leave communities vulnerable to unforeseen costs related to power, water, noise, and taxes, often shifting the burden to taxpayers. He emphasizes that a complete contract should clearly define who pays for what, who bears risk, how compliance is measured, and what happens at the project's conclu...
