HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93010_02612. /f a company's investment exceeds $30 million in additional taxable base, the board
of commissioners may authorize the extension of the years of eligibility to six years. Mashburn
said this statement was not in the present policy. He said that in the current policy, the eligibility
was five years, irregardless of the investment amount, as long as it was greater than $3 million.
3. A further component of the calculation will be based on the quality ofthe jobs created.
The schedule below allocates percentage of participation for each level.
Wage Rate Eligibility Rate
Level 1 120% of county average wage 100% eligible reimbursement
Level II 110% of county average wage 90% eligible reimbursement
Mashburn said the policy was actually a guideline. He said it did not take away the board's ability
to address special circumstances. Mr. Mashburn said the guideline gave the economic developers some
assistance when dealing with industrial brokers.
Commissioner Stewart asked how the policy would address companies that desired to develop in
stages. She asked how the years of payback would occur.
Mashburn said this would be part of the negotiating process, lie said the county was in the process
of negotiating a similar arrangement with a company at the present. Mr. Mashburn said the company had
made a stipulated investment, but it had taken the industry several years to reach the investment point.
Pope said an industry might want to do a $30 million investment in three $10 million stages. Mr.
Pope said the best method for the industry to take would be for it to talk with the commissioners three times
and get five years for each phase or stage. Pope said the contracts tried to define what was being promised.
He said no industries received incentives until their commitments had been fulfilled. He said South Carolina.
Alabama, and Georgia gave incentives "up -front."
Stewart asked if the phased method could be incorporated into the policy.
Pope said it could possibly be done. He said that each contract was customized to the company's
circumstances.
Commissioner Johnson said he wanted to clarify that it was not the intent of the board, or the
county's economic developers, to offer incentives up -front. Johnson reiterated Mr. Pope's statement about
the county's past history of using incentives on a sparse basis.
Chairman Vice said the county's two economic developers did an excellent job in working with
prospective industries. "Vice added that incentives were not offered unless they were absolutely necessary.
Commissioner Stewart said she thought there was a perception that when a new industry was brought
into the county and there wasn't an adequate labor force, that more people moved here and an increase in
the residential tax base occurred. She said that when this happened, an increased need for classrooms and
county services occurred. Stewart said when incentives were approved for a company in this scenario that
over the "long haul," this assistance would actually start costing the county. She said the county needed to
be careful to recruiting industries. Mrs. Stewart said new industries should only be brought into the county
when there was an ample labor force already here -- not when more people would have to move here and
then need classrooms and county services.
Commissioner Johnson said Iredell County ranked in the top third of counties in the state on what
was paid per student in current expense and capital expense. He said some of the factors contributing to the
low tax rate were: (1) a relatively low amount of debt service (2) the sales tax revenues for counties , -
fifteen percent of fredell's size were 120 %of the average of those counties and (3) the tax base per capita
was about 125%, of counties Iredell's size. He said some figures he had recently seen stated the tax base
necessary to support one child in the local school system was about a half million dollars. Mr. Johnson
said that at a recent Welfare Reform Committee meeting, a member from the Lmploymcm Security
Commission had said the unemployment rate in Iredell County was up to five percent.
Commissioner Stewart pointed out the county's debt service had been increasing since 1988