Trenton Proposes Financial Benefits for Data Center Construction Amid Bribery Law Scrutiny

Trenton officials introduced five resolutions offering financial benefits to residents, which would only take effect if voters rejected Issue 17 at the upcoming election. These benefits include property tax cuts, discounted YMCA memberships, and a freeze on levy requests. Under the city's resolution, the city would waive its 3.24-mill general fund inside property tax for tax year 2026, contingent on the construction of two Amazon Web Services data centers. The proposal has drawn questions regarding whether the property tax holiday violates state election bribery laws.

The city's finance director stated that the property tax benefits would be possible due to the economic contributions the data centers would provide to the city. Without the AWS data center contributions, residents could face requests to approve up to seven mills in additional property taxes to maintain city services. The proposal is evaluated under the state's election bribery laws.