From Deseret News archives:
Economic board defines incentives given to firms
The Governor's Office of Economic Development Board did not name either company approved for incentives Friday.
One company, which markets and sells information technology products and services to consumers and business customers, will receive up to $2.5 million in tax rebates over 10 years if it meets established criteria. The rebate would be used to offset start-up costs and one-time fees in establishing a new sales and service call center facility that represents a capital investment of $25.8 million.
The 574 new full-time jobs have projected average salaries of $40,000, which is above the median in the county where the facility would be located. The approval Friday requires employees to be paid at least 125 percent of the county median wage, and the average must be 175 percent of the county median wage. The company, which in recent years has experienced cost-cutting activities and restructuring, also must commit to keep operations in Utah at least 10 years.
The state would get $16.7 million in new state revenue from such a facility, board documents indicate.
The other unnamed company was awarded an incentive of up to $500,000 to shoot a movie in Utah. The money would come from the Industrial Assistance Fund and the Motion Picture Incentive Fund.
Board Chairman David Simmons also clarified what types of information about financial incentives are available to public access.
In recent months, the trend has been for the board to not disclose the names of companies receiving the incentives. Board members have said they are honoring company requests for anonymity. December's approval announcements were even more terse than usual, and The Salt Lake Tribune has filed a request for information through the Government Records Access and Management Act to get details about the board's recent incentive activities.
Simmons said Friday that all board meetings are open to the public and materials distributed to board members "unless noted otherwise" are available for public access. But some information about incentives is limited to board members, he said, adding that disclosing it would be in violation of statutes.
Board member Mark Howell said some companies requesting anonymity are involved in "a very competitive situation, and if we were to disclose that XYZ Co. was looking to come into Utah, that may be the reason they don't come here. We just kind of defeat our whole purpose if we let loose with some of this information in the press, so that's why we do that. And we sign agreements with these companies that we won't disclose" the information, he said.
Board member Jerry Oldroyd said much of the undisclosed information is financial, and the companies would be at a competitive disadvantage if it were to become public.
E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com
