Local & State Headlines

PDA terminates bond issue for ThermaCare

• The Albany-Dougherty Payroll Development Authority helps facilitate sale of a Procter & Gamble product line.

Carlton Fletcher

ALBANY — The Albany-Dougherty Payroll Development Authority unanimously approved a measure Monday to terminate 25-year bonds issued to Procter & Gamble- Albany in July of 1996 as a means of ad valorem tax relief when the company added the ThermaCare product line to the local plant.

The bond termination became necessary when P&G completed a sale of the ThermaCare line to Wyeth Consumer Healthcare recently.

“In order to induce P&G to start the ThermaCare product line, you issued 25-year bonds on their behalf,” PDA attorney Jay Reynolds, who called for the special meeting, told board members. “With their sale of that line to Wyeth, P&G has requested that you permit the bonds to be terminated.

“In order for Procter & Gamble to transfer ownership (of the ThermaCare line) to Wyeth, we need to take care of the bond issue.”

Authority Chair Jeff Sinyard said it’s important that the PDA and the community in general let officials at Wyeth know they support the Fortune 500 company’s efforts in Albany.

“I talked to their No. 2 guy, and he said he likes what he has heard about Albany and Dougherty County,” Sinyard said. “They have confirmed their plan to continue doing business at the P&G plant and to keep on the existing work force. Certainly we want to make the transition easy for them.”

With the termination of the bonds, which were significantly less than the possible $100 million that was approved by the Payroll Development Authority, ownership of equipment at the P&G plant returns to the company, which may then complete sale of the line to Wyeth.

Also at the meeting, the Geer & Associates firm’s contract to complete the PDA’s required annual audit was renewed.

More Headlines>>