Brevard County tax incentives for Palm Bay’s Rogue Valley failed

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A courtship between the county government and high-tech semiconductor companies ended in whining this week after the Brevard County Commission voted 3-2 against a hefty property tax credit for the company.

Oregon-based tech company Rogue Valley Microdevices Inc. is looking to expand its operations to Palm Bay and is seeking property tax incentives from Brevard County and the City of Palm Bay.

The Economic Development Board estimates that tax relief from the county would have reached $81,800 annually over a maximum of 10 years. Even with that amount, the county would have received $117,666 in new taxes from the project, according to EDC’s analysis.

“We are disappointed that the committee did not approve the company’s application. Members of the AVT Council had a thorough discussion and ensured that the company met the statutory requirements prior to our recommendation. bottom.”

While these specific tax breaks are no longer on the table, Rogue Valley may choose to locate in Brevard County to take advantage of incentives offered by the City of Palm Bay.

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The company said it will make an initial investment of $25 million in new equipment and other improvements at its proposed Palm Bay site at 2301 Commerce Drive NE. His 50,000-square-foot building is currently vacant and located in a light industrial area. Of the $25 million, $21.4 million will go to clean room equipment.

As part of a deal with the terminated county, Rogue Valley promised to hire 30 people at the facility within three years. These jobs pay an average of $59,900 per year and fall into 21 job categories. Salaries range from $120,000 a year operations manager to $31,000 a year accountant.

An analysis by the Economic Development Board found that the 30 direct jobs Rogue Valley plans to create will lead to 20 spin-off jobs. These 50 jobs will have a gross annual salary of $2.99 ​​million, contributing $4.72 million annually to the local economy.

A 70% county property tax credit could be worth $57,260 a year for Rogue Valley, or $400,820 over seven years.

EDC’s Ad valorem Tax Cuts Council recommended a 70% tax cut over seven years based on a formula that takes into account the company’s planned capital investment, the number of jobs created, and the average salary of those jobs .

But these jobs were denounced by District 3 Commissioner John Tobia, who often voted against cutting taxes on businesses. He said a handful of higher-paid executive positions skewed average salaries for new positions to give deals a rosier sheen than the company was actually offering. Many are below the region’s median income, Tobia pointed out at a conference on Tuesday. obtained, pointing out that this is more than some of the jobs employed.

He noted that without the six-figure executive jobs promised by Rogue Valley, the average wage for new jobs would be below the regional median income, and the remaining 16 jobs would be below the median. “Most of the jobs are … below the median and average,” Tobia said.

Tobia also said he wasn’t happy with the lack of information about what the other two potential locations in Rogue Valley offer the company.

Edgar Campa-Palafox, director of business development for the Economic Development Commission on the Space Coast, Florida, said these proposals are often kept secret so that different municipalities can compete with each other. .

“The world of economic development is very competitive, especially in very aggressive states like Texas and Arizona,” Campa-Palafox said. of a typical secret offer by another government. “Usually they are not for public consumption.”

Tobia was unfazed, and commissioners Tom Goodson and Rob Feltner voted to scrap the tax cut package. “I don’t know if I have to withhold more than $1 million in tax revenue right now to get 16 jobs with wages below the median in Florida,” Tobia added, adding that the company had to.

Two commissioners, Rita Pritchett and Christine Czonka, who backed pushing for tax cuts, said the capital improvements benefits of assets as well as jobs would provide enough value to justify tax cuts.

“This is a voter-approved tax cut,” Dzongkha said. “All jobs are good jobs and we believe we are in a competitive market competing with some states.”

Last week, Palm Bay pushed its own tax cuts on real estate that Rogue Valley sought, and the city council voted unanimously in favor.

Palm Bay tax relief scheme that takes into account jobs created, average wages for those jobs, and capital expenditures – Rogue Valley may be eligible for Palm Bay property tax credits over a period of six years. The tax cut would cut the city’s property taxes by 60% from year one to his third. 50% in the fourth year. 40% in the fifth year. 30% in the 6th year.

The Palm Bay City Council can change these tax breaks based on a variety of circumstances. The issue will go to his second ballot for final approval on February 2nd.

Since taking office more than six years ago, Tobia has made reducing the size of local government a key pillar of his policy objectives. Non-mandatory Citizen Advisory Board with his crosshair. He vowed to reduce the number of advisory committees when he took office, and although he managed to consolidate many of them last summer, he was unable to dissolve them as he had hoped, due to a meeting on Tuesday. Three of him were placed on the cutting board.

Advisory Board escaped trade-offs

Tobia, a strong advocate of cutting government spending as much as possible, scrapping tax breaks could relieve him of the need to end three civic advisory committees that had been in jeopardy until Tuesday. I thought there was.

The Architecture and Construction Advisory Board, History Commission and Marine Advisory Board all escaped dissolution on Tuesday, despite agenda items calling for votes on the future. Commissioner Tom Goodson said the commission provides value to city officials, provides public direction for government, and represents the hard work that its members put in for free. “If they’ve done something good for our community, I think it deserves it,” Goodson said.

Tobia said voting against Rogue Valley’s tax cuts made Goodson more conciliatory about staying on the board. He thanked Goodson for his vote and allowed the board to be completely dissolved. “These are pennies compared to the savings that were just offered,” Tobia said.

Despite a long-standing promise during his tenure, Tobia said he would not disband the Advisory Board any further during his term.

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