Hillsboro residents are questioning the city’s handling of data center tax breaks after officials approved agreements that could extend exemptions decades into the future — just a month before a statewide moratorium on new incentives takes effect.
Frustration over transparency and concerns that the city was moving too aggressively to lock in long-term incentives surfaced during a city council meeting Tuesday, May 5. The scrutiny follows reporting by The Oregonian that Hillsboro recently approved a series of enterprise zone tax abatements for future data center investments, including one that could stretch into the 2050s.
City officials say the looming moratorium triggered a rush of applications from data center operators — specifically 17 applications across eight entities — and argue state law leaves local governments with limited discretion to deny projects that meet program requirements…