Tax break OK'd for 'Project Tango'
Company could bring up to 1,150 jobs
to Rutherford
MURFREESBORO —
Rutherford County's Industrial Development Board showed it was ready
to do some two-steppin' Wednesday if it means hundreds of jobs for
the county.
Board members approved two "aggressive" tax break
plans designed to lure an anonymous company, called Project Tango,
with a promise to bring either 325 or 1,150 jobs to a warehousing
and distribution operation here.
The American company is considering locations in
Murfreesboro and La Vergne, as well as other sites in Middle and
East Tennessee and in different states, for a large sort facility
that would bring 1,150 jobs or smaller non-sort facility that would
create 325 jobs, according to information presented to the board by
Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce President Paul Latture.
All jobs are to be full time and pay an average of
$16.25 per hour, according to Latture, who said the company plans to
make a decision within two months and buy property by Oct. 1.
"We felt where we all stand economically, nationally
as well as locally, we (should) try to do everything we can do to
put ourselves at a competitive advantage," Latture said.
The board approved a 20-year 100 percent tax break
totaling $15.8 million with the understanding the company will
invest $87.5 million in a building and bring a total payroll of
$48.5 million. Its total economic impact is calculated at $133.9
million by Younger & Associates, the firm that conducts the board's
benefit/cost analyses.
"A 20-year abatement is unusual," board member Rob
Lyons said, "but given the current economic conditions and the fact
that the company will be making a decision among multiple sites,
perhaps we needed to be a little more aggressive than we normally
would to try to land the project."
On the non-sort facility proposal, board members OK'd
a 15-year tax break totaling $4.9 million based on a proposed
company capital investment of $51.5 million, $13.7 million in wages
and total economic impact of $82.6 million.
Latture told the board the proposals meet the
Rutherford County Commission's required 3-to-1 return on benefits to
cost.
Chamber of Commerce officials are required to
keep the company's name secret under a non-disclosure agreement,
Latture said. Queried by board members about the company,
Latture would say only that it is a "recognizable" and
fast-growing company.
Nearly every board member noted that this type of
agreement is new to Rutherford County.
"It's very aggressive. I think it's a sign of the
times," said board member Ed Davenport. "I think the economy
that we're in probably requires aggressive action that we
haven't been required to do before."
IDB Chairman Jim Baker pointed out that a few
years ago the board probably wouldn't have approved such tax
breaks for a company, but with the county's unemployment rate at
9.6 percent the board must take action to compete with other
counties and put people back to work.
"A few years ago everybody in the county who
wanted a job had a job. That isn't the case now," Baker said.
"There's a lot of good people out there who need work, but the
jobs aren't there. I think this project, if we get it, it'll
open up quite a few jobs for people in the county to get."
Board members could recall only one instance in
which a company received a 20-year plan from the IDB and that
was Nissan in 1982 when it opened the Smyrna plant. But it made
payments in lieu of taxes instead of receiving a 100 percent
break, Baker said.
IDB member David Waldron noted that Nissan helped
end a recession for Rutherford County when it started
construction in 1982 and the impact was immediate.
"We're moving in the right direction if we incur
these jobs," Waldron said.
Before votes were taken on both measures, Lyons,
who is Murfreesboro's city manager, called for the contract to
be amended to ensure the tax agreement could be adjusted if the
company were to fail to meet employment requirements.
The votes were 5-0-1 and 6-0 on the measures,
with new member Jimmy Evans passing on the non-sort facility
vote. Evans, who was a few minutes late to the meeting, said
afterward he misunderstood the first motion but supports the tax
abatement.
Chamber of Commerce officials are required to
keep the company's name secret under a non-disclosure agreement,
Latture said. Queried by board members about the company,
Latture would say only that it is a "recognizable" and
fast-growing company.
Nearly every board member noted that this type of
agreement is new to Rutherford County.
"It's very aggressive. I think it's a sign of the
times," said board member Ed Davenport. "I think the economy
that we're in probably requires aggressive action that we
haven't been required to do before."
IDB Chairman Jim Baker pointed out that a few
years ago the board probably wouldn't have approved such tax
breaks for a company, but with the county's unemployment rate at
9.6 percent the board must take action to compete with other
counties and put people back to work.
"A few years ago everybody in the county who
wanted a job had a job. That isn't the case now," Baker said.
"There's a lot of good people out there who need work, but the
jobs aren't there. I think this project, if we get it, it'll
open up quite a few jobs for people in the county to get."
Board members could recall only one instance in
which a company received a 20-year plan from the IDB and that
was Nissan in 1982 when it opened the Smyrna plant. But it made
payments in lieu of taxes instead of receiving a 100 percent
break, Baker said.
IDB member David Waldron noted that Nissan helped
end a recession for Rutherford County when it started
construction in 1982 and the impact was immediate.
"We're moving in the right direction if we incur
these jobs," Waldron said.
Before votes were taken on both measures, Lyons,
who is Murfreesboro's city manager, called for the contract to
be amended to ensure the tax agreement could be adjusted if the
company were to fail to meet employment requirements.
The votes were 5-0-1 and 6-0 on the measures,
with new member Jimmy Evans passing on the non-sort facility
vote. Evans, who was a few minutes late to the meeting, said
afterward he misunderstood the first motion but supports the tax
abatement.
