A state agency gave the green light Monday for Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC to receive an $18 million tax break if it keeps its technical center in Akron.

The Ohio Tax Credit Authority's five-member panel unanimously approved the deal, which would allow Bridgestone Firestone to pay just 25 percent of its state commercial activity tax bills for 15 years. In exchange, the company would be required to retain operations in Akron for at least 18 years.

The offer is part of an estimated $68 million economic-development package being pulled together by the state, Summit County and the city to keep the tire company's technical center in Akron.

The Nashville-based sub
sidiary of the Japanese tire company announced last month that it has narrowed its choices for its new Bridgestone Firestone Technical Center to Akron's Firestone Park or Murfreesboro, Tenn., southeast of Nashville.

Details of neither the Ohio nor Tennessee proposals have been made public.

Akron spokesman Mark Williamson said Monday that the company has not told the city its decision.

The state tax credit sought by the company and approved on Monday ''is part of the necessary project that Bridgestone Firestone goes through in the event that they end up selecting Akron,'' Williamson said. '' . . . It's not an indicator that they have selected Akron. It's just part of the process to be prepared if they do select Akron and if they want tax credits.''

Ohio Department of Development spokeswoman Melissa Vince said that Monday's approval of the tax break verifies ''the state's commitment to the project.''

Bridgestone Firestone said in a statement, ''We continue to make progress in our project to build a world-class technology center for our Akron teammates. . . . We still have more work to do.''

Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, who heads the Ohio Department of Development, still must approve ''a finding of extraordinary circumstance'' to extend the tax break from the typical 10-year period to 15 years, Vince said.

Bridgestone Firestone has said it needs a state-of-the-art facility to attract and retain employees.

The current technical center is in a former Firestone tire factory built in 1911 that also housed Firestone's headquarters. It employs about 600 people in high-paying jobs.

The state estimates the price tag for the new facility to be $100 million. If it goes forward, the project is expected to retain about 1,000 jobs in Akron.