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Reprinted with permission from
The Courier=Times Online
Co. plant will have $250,000 in property taxes refunded to it during its
first five years here in exchange for providing five annual internships
for Person County students or teachers.
Person County government officials on Monday gave a general outline of an
arrangement they had negotiated with Spuntech Industries Inc. as part of
Person County's match of a $250,000 state economic development incentive
to Spuntech via the governor's One North Carolina Fund.
During its regular mid-March session Monday morning, the Person Board of
County Commissioners voted unanimously to approve terms of the One North
Carolina Fund grant, which is tied to requirements of the William S. Lee
Act, which provides tax credits to businesses that bring jobs to the state.
Glen Newsome, executive director of the Person County Economic Development
Commission, reminded commissioners that since Person County is designated
a Tier 3 county on the Lee Act's five-tier subdivision of the state's 100
counties ranging from the poorest counties in Tier 1 to the wealthiest
in Tier 5 Person is obliged to match One North Carolina Fund grants
dollar-for-dollar.
To gain the $250,000 state grant, however, Spuntech must meet certain
performance criteria. Specifically, it must create and maintain 60 new and
permanent full-time jobs within three years of the grant award; pay an
average weekly wage for those jobs at or above the average weekly
manufacturing wage in the county at the time of the application, which was
$532, or $27,664 annually; and provide health insurance for all full-time jobs.
In turn, Spuntech may use the money for specified expenses only, such as
purchase and installation of equipment, renovation or repairs of existing
facilities, construction or improvement of utility lines, and the like.
Newsome said Spuntech officials have agreed to those terms. He noted that
Person County had competition for Spuntech all along the East Coast
initially and ultimately made the "short list" of preferred locations
along with Connecticut and Virginia.
Person, he said, was "very fortunate" to get Spuntech, whose operation
here will mark the first for the company in the United States.
Person County government will administer the state grant to Spuntech and
will distribute it as the company attains certain intervals of
performance. For example, it is to get the first 25 percent of the grant
after it creates and maintains 25 percent of the new jobs, and 25 percent
more each at the 50 percent and 75 percent job levels and the final 25
percent once all 60 new jobs are in place.
Additionally, by the time the full grant is distributed, Spuntech is to
have invested a minimum $23.5 million in Person County.
As for the $250,000 match from Person County, Commissioner Roy K. Holler
explained Monday that commissioners had earlier developed general terms in
closed session.
While the county had noted previously that it would provide the match, no
details had been disclosed until Holler volunteered them at Monday's
meeting for both the public and for newly-elected Commissioners Larry
Bowes and Larry Yarborough, who were not party to the Spuntech
negotiations, as they did not take their seats on the board until December.
Based on Spuntech's expected investment, the company will pay property
taxes of about $157,000 a year.
Holler explained that during closed deliberations when commissioners were
"trying to get these folks to come" to Person County, the issue of
incentives was discussed.
"I don't know that we were all that crazy about offering [incentives],"
Holler said, "but we found a way that I feel like is somewhat creative to
offer an incentive to come and get something in return."
Spuntech, Holler continued, "does have sort of a unique philosophy that is
a little different. These folks are from Israel. This will be their first
U. S. operation. They take very seriously their employees and looking
after them. And they see it more as a family business. So we felt like we
would give them an opportunity to express that philosophy to us.
"So what we did, our commitment was to match the $250,000. The source of
that revenue for us will be their taxes. . We said we would consider
offering to refund some of their taxes, $50,000 per year for five years;
that's $250,00. In return, we would like [Spuntech] to offer five
internships each year to either students or teachers."
Spuntech was willing to do that, "So, we felt like it was a good trade,"
said Holler, who added that further details regarding the arrangement
still need to be worked out.
County Manager Steve D. Carpenter noted that one prerequisite, however,
would be that student interns be Person County residents who, after
working for the company, would decide to remain to work and live in the
county instead of moving away.
Carpenter's comment seemed clearly targeted toward Monday's audience,
which was made up largely of Person High School students participating in
the annual Local Government Day observance.
Holler added regarding the arrangement with Spuntech, "We hope that this
will set a precedent for other industries for sort of an apprentice type
program."
With that, commissioners went on to approve terms of the One North
Carolina grant by a 5-0 vote.