This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — ExxonMobil gets a 10-year tax exemption with the final word coming from the East Baton Rouge Metro-Council.

The quick decision was made after the council amended the agenda, moving the item up and receiving an unanimous vote of approval.

“It’s a very important strong showing of support. You know, when we know a community, a city, a state is wanting business, wanting our investment, we love that partnership” said Vice President of Americas and Fuels for ExxonMobil, Gloria Moncada.

The property tax break is worth an estimated $23-million over the next ten years.

“This is an extremely important economic development for East Baton Rouge Parish, keeping us competitive for years to come when it comes to the industrial sector” said District 9’s East Baton Rouge Metro Councilman, Dwight Hudson.

Hudson said, the Metro-Council’s approval shows industrial groups they can have faith in the sometimes controversial program.

“The best thing for the community to take away is that now the council very set and clear guidelines when it comes to ITEP” said Hudson.

According to ExxonMobil, the tax break will help modernize the refinery and bring a major economic boost to the Capital City.

“This project in particular builds a really strong foundation of job retention and competitiveness for the plant and remember we’re an integrated complex. We have a chemical plant, lubes facility when we are strong in the refinery, we create strength in those other areas” said, Moncada.