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Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, says redirected incentives from Microsoft’s data-centre campus will cut the village property-tax levy by 2% and fund nearly half its capital projects in 2027. The reported benefit is $4.9 million in annual incentives, with the village saying it will borrow less as a result.

Village officials say the funding will cover about a third of street paving and around half the planned upgrades for police cars, fire equipment and snowploughs. It is a local example of how a data-centre deal can reach beyond the campus itself and into municipal budgets. The trade-off is worth debating: should communities judge these deals by the public services and tax relief they fund, or by the longer-term costs and obligations they leave behind?

Discuss: Should communities judge data-centre incentives by the public services and tax relief they fund, or by the longer-term costs and obligations they leave behind?

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