What Happened?
Cities nationwide are deploying new campaigns and policies to attract and retain businesses in key industries to support economic growth and sustainability.
Painesville
A proposed incentive program in Painesville, Ohio, would allow businesses to apply for tax credits once they have created a certain number of jobs in the community. The job creation tax credit program would grant municipal income tax credits to approved businesses that can be used against the municipal tax on income levied against businesses, the News-Herald reported.
Local officials are considering the tax credit program as a means to create more manufacturing jobs in the local community. Eligible companies that have already proven the creation of at least 25 new full-time jobs would receive a refundable tax credit up to a maximum of 50 percent.
The companies will have up to three years of initial operation in the city to create the jobs that must pay at least 150 percent of the federal minimum wage. If the companies create new jobs at or above 400 percent the federal minimum wage, the number of jobs required to receive tax credits is reduced to 10. In addition, companies must agree to maintain operations within the city for at least twice the term of the maximum 10-year tax credit up to 20 years.
Burlington
The Iowa Transportation Commission is awarding the city of Burlington with a $1.3 million Immediate Opportunity Grant to pay for a construction project building access to a site for a new manufacturing company. The grant will be used to extend the street to the area where the plant will be built making it easier for cars and trucks to enter and exit the campus.
Through the $1.3 million state investment, the city expects to create 120 full-time jobs within three years and collect $125 million in associated capital investment from the private sector, Radio Iowa reported.
Muskogee
The Muskogee City-County Port Authority in Oklahoma offer local incentives to businesses interested in expanding or relocating to the city. The authority’s business and economic development division has $3 million set aside to be allocated via grants through the City of Muskogee Foundation, Muskogee Phoenix reported.
The port authority incentive grant program is offered to companies planning at least $250,000 in capital investments in local facilities over a three-year period. Eligible businesses can also plan to add at least 15 full-time jobs with annual compensation of at least 110 percent of the Muksogee County average, Muskogee Phoenix reported.
In 2014, the port authority awarded $700,000 in incentives to four companies to aid expansion efforts. The grants are estimated to generate more than $52.6 million in local capital investments and create 54 new jobs with annual salaries of $41,700, Muskogee Phoenix reported.
Albuquerque
The city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is proposing an incentive program to encourage local companies offer equal pay to female and male workers. Under the proposed initiative, city agencies would give businesses bidding on local government contracts a 5 percent preference when evaluating submissions. Companies would have to demonstrate their plan to pay women within at least 10 percent of what men earn for the same work, the Associated Press reported.
Related Stories
How Incentives Drive Fredericksburg’s Econ Dev