The St. Clair County Commission, along with the city of Pell City will be holding public hearings in the near future to decide on the fate of a suggested tax break for Town and Country Ford.

Town and Country Ford, which purchased Pell City Ford more than a year ago, has asked both entities to rebate one half of the sales tax generated in excess of $5 million on net taxable sales for 10 years, beginning when Town and Country Ford moves into a planned new or renovated location.

Pell City would rebate half of the requested amount — equal to 25 percent of the total sales tax generated in excess of $5 million — and St. Clair County would be responsible for the other half of the funds.

“Right now, we’re getting 100 percent of the revenues, and essentially, we’ll be getting 75 [percent],” County Commission Attorney Bill Weathington explained.

The $5 million milestone comes from the average sales of Pell City Ford before Town and Country took over, according to Don Smith, director of the St. Clair County Economic Development Council. He said the company has already seen significant growth since they started operating the dealership in December 2009.

“It’s the same amount of tax money as we’ve been getting, plus half of the new money,” Weathington added.

The agreement stipulates that if Town and Country Ford opens another dealership or facility, the rebate would apply to the new facility as well, but the 10 year timeframe would be measured from the opening of the original facility.

If Town and Country doesn’t generate $5 million in sales, neither the city nor the county would rebate any revenue generated.

“It sounds positive for St. Clair County and for the taxpayers. It’s a plus for the county,” Commissioner Paul Manning said.

According to Smith, Town and Country has been under pressure from Ford to give the dealership a facelift in order to maintain the motor company’s image guidelines. When they took over the company in December 2009, they were given a three-year deadline to make upgrades on the dealership or be shut down by Ford corporate.

The expansion is expected to add employees to the workforce, and the building itself is expected to be a substantial investment in St. Clair County.

St. Clair County’s public hearing on the matter will take place at 9 a.m. April 12 at the Ashville Service Center, directly preceding the regular St. Clair County Commission regular meeting.