County drops valuation of GM property by 26%

The St. Charles County Board of Equalization has voted to approve Assessor Scott Shipman‘s recommendation to reduce the assessed valuation of personal property at General Motors‘ van-assembly plant in Wentzville.

The county dropped the assessed value of GM’s personal property at the plant to $23.7 million; that is an $8.5 million reduction from the amount originally assessed. Shipman said the plant’s assessed real property value was about $23.7 million.

The real property figure did not change as a result of the settlement with GM, he said.

Earlier this summer GM appealed its assessed valuations at all of its facilities in the U.S., not just the Wentzville plant.

“We just want to make sure we’re in line with the fair market value,” said Robert Wheeler, GM spokesman for the Wentzville facility, after the equalization board gave its approval.

Shipman said his office and the automaker reached an agreement on the assessed valuation on Friday, July 31. The equalization board signed off on the deal the following Tuesday.

The assessor also said the discussions with the automaker were cordial during the appeals process. “As for negotiations, there really weren’t any,” he said.

The assessed value of the plant’s personal property was reduced because “we applied some economic obsolescence” to the machinery used to produce vans, Shipman said. “To me, this was the right thing to do.”

The Wentzville plant assembles GMC Savana and Chevrolet Express vans.

Shipman said he was “fairly comfortable” with his office’s valuation of GM’s real property, and that he didn’t think that valuation would change. He said appeals of personal property happen all the time, and that he wasn’t concerned when GM announced its appeal.

In response to a reporter’s question, Shipman said his office is not seeing appeals from GM suppliers who are located in the county. However, his office is seeing numerous appeals by the owners of vacant lots in the county. He said the appeals are coming from builders and from banks that have foreclosed on the vacant properties.

120 take buyout

A total of 120 workers at the Wentzville facility accepted buyout packages, GM announced last week. That leaves about 1,800 employees at the plant. However, the company earlier this year said that 887 workers in Wentzville would be laid off today, Aug. 10.

The buyout is part of a companywide attrition program designed to voluntary reduce the workforce. More than 6,000 hourly workers participated in the program, the company said. This was the second attrition program that the automaker offered employees this year, as the company strives to become more competitive. Ford and Chrysler also have used attrition programs.

Wheeler said GM did not set attrition goals for each plant and facility it operates. Whether future layoffs will take place at the Wentzville plant is unknown right now, he said.