Following the blowup when the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board decided (and then un-decided) to grant a million-dollar tax abatement to a local health club after it was already constructed and open, someone must have realized that it would be a good idea for the IDB to have a website and make a few things public.

Little details, like the membership of the IDB (appointed by Council) and the matrices showing who’s eligible for what, are now online.  I would have put the matrix documents in PDF form to make them easier to print, but at least it’s there and available to the public.

Tax incentives are a necessary evil, but one that must be used judiciously to bring in investments of a specific nature that meet specific needs.