Wal-Mart opening to give Chelsea tax income boost
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, September 5, 2006
When Chelsea&8217;s Wal-Mart Supercenter opens next spring, it will bring with it almost 400 jobs and more than $1 million dollars in sales tax revenue.
&8220;It will add a tremendous amount of revenue to the city and employ a considerable amount of residents,&8221; said Mayor Earl Niven.
Niven said projections show the store generating between $1 million to $1.5 million of income for the ten-year-old city.
The mayor acknowledges that Wal-Mart will add a substantial boost to the city&8217;s sales tax revenue, but he is a little hesitant to predict numbers. &8220;I&8217;m on the conservative side until I see the projections start to roll in,&8221; said Niven.
Niven says the increases to the city budget will allow the city to expand their fire department and other city services.
Construction started earlier this summer on the store and much of the site work, including exterior walls, is already completed. The new store&8217;s grand opening is tentatively set for May 5, 2007.