State is offering tax incentives to several firms

If Backcountry.com chooses Utah, it would receive the full incentive if it maintained jobs paying at least 25 percent above the Salt Lake County median, or $35,750 per year. The jobs also must average at least 75 percent above the county median, or $50,000 per year. It also would be required to keep operations in Utah at least 10 years.

The company is projecting average wages of $55,504 for the qualifying jobs, which is more than twice the Summit County median and nearly twice the Salt Lake County median. The minimum pay for the high-paying jobs would be $36,000, which is 37 percent above the Summit County and 26 percent above the Salt Lake County median.

The state's approval also is subject to local incentives from West Valley City and Summit County. Board Chairman David Simmons said he was unsure what form those would take, but they need to be "something meaningful for the project."

Michael Nelson, director of business recruitment and incentives, said state law requires local incentives but does not specify a particular dollar amount or even that it be in funds. It could take the form of in-kind services or infrastructure improvements, he said.

If Utah gets the expansion, new state revenue is expected to be $35.3 million for all 654 jobs over 10 years, and new state wages would total $189.6 million for those jobs over the same period. The company's capital investment is estimated at $4.9 million.

"This company could be almost anywhere, and there are some competitive efforts to get these jobs in other states," Michael Nelson said. "We felt that we'd like to keep this company in the state of Utah and show them that we love them here and we want them to be here."

Board member Jerry Oldroyd said Backcountry.com "has been a real success story for Utah."

A $1 million tax-rebate incentive was approved for food redistributor Dot Foods Inc. of Salt Lake City, which had sought a $5 million incentive.

The company would add 150 new full-time employees, 87 of which are considered high-paying. To capture the full rebate, the company would need to keep operations in Utah at least 10 years and pay those 87 at least twice the Salt Lake County median of $28,600. The company is projecting they would pay $64,406 per year, or 225 percent of the median.

Dot Foods offers 57,000 products from 550 food industry manufacturers. It had more than $2 billion in revenues in 2005.