Graham Hires Consultant to Examine Saltworks Impact

The Graham City Council has hired a municipal finance consultant for up to $36,000 to measure the potential longterm costs and benefits of Project Saltworks.

The council approved an agreement July 23 with 820 Consulting LLC, doing business as ZacTax Consulting, as part of the city’s due diligence on a proposal from Headwaters Site Development.

The firm will be paid $3,000 per month plus authorized mileage and lodging expenses. Either the city or the consultant can terminate the agreement with 30 days’ written notice.

The proposed Project Saltworks development would bring a massive Stream Data Centers campus to an approximately 890-acre site near Graham. The project is currently valued at as much as $10 billion if fully built.

Consultant Robert Hanna, a former Abilene city manager, said ZacTax will examine the project’s net fiscal effect on Graham, including how it could affect the city’s tax base, tax rate and cost of providing services.

“What does that really mean for your community from a long-range standpoint?” Mr. Hanna asked. “How does that affect your tax rate? How is it going to benefit your citizens? How will it benefit your bottom line providing services for those citizens?”

Mr. Hanna said he worked on Abilene’s Stargate data center project and has participated in data center discussions involving at least four other Texas communities.

He said that experience could help Graham identify and mitigate potential effects associated with construction and operation of the Saltworks campus.

When asked whether ZacTax receives funding from data center companies, Mr. Hanna said the firm works only for cities.

All or part of the consulting expense is expected to be reimbursed through an escrow agreement funded by Headwaters. Headwaters initially deposited $25,000 to cover Graham’s legal and consulting expenses.

Because the ZacTax contract allows spending of as much as $36,000, city officials acknowledged that the escrow agreement might have to be amended if the combined consulting and legal bills exceed the initial deposit.

City Manager Eric Garretty stressed that Graham has not signed an economic-development agreement with Stream, Headwaters or any other data-center developer.

At the end of that process, the council could direct its attorneys and staff either to abandon negotiations or prepare a draft economic-development agreement for public consideration.

The council discussed Project Saltworks behind closed doors July 23 but took no action after returning to open session.

Two residents urged the city to widen the scope of its review.

Gabe Pratt called for an impact study examining the effect of an influx of construction workers on housing, emergency services and city equipment. He questioned whether Graham could be left with additional personnel and equipment it could no longer afford after construction ends.

Another resident warned that landlords could sharply increase rents in anticipation of demand from temporary construction workers, potentially displacing lower- income residents.

The consultant’s work is expected to help the council negotiate possible conditions and protections if it decides to proceed with an agreement.