“This is something that other counties in the state don’t have,” said Jake Shade, president of the Allegany County Commission. “I don’t think it’s a game changer, but I think it is a way that the county can stand out from everyone else in the state and say ‘Hey, we are open for business.’”
Nearly a year and a half ago, the city of Cumberland initiated an economic strategy study by Virginia-based RKG associates. The study found Cumberland as a prime location for information technology development opportunities.
Since then, officials have worked to develop incentives to attract such industries and stand out from other areas of the state.
“It started last year as a way to attract businesses that maybe don’t fall under the state incentive program,” Shade said. “These are companies that may have less than 25 employees — but they are still high-paying jobs that we are trying to attract to the county.”
The Allegany County Small Business Technology Micro-Fund would offer a one-time, up-front cash incentive for each full-time employee earning a minimum of $45,000 annually. The employee must reside in the county.
For companies with three to five employees, the incentive would be $3,000 per employee; $2,000 per employee would be paid to companies with six to 10 workers; and a $1,000 incentive per employee would go to companies with 11 to 25 employees.
“We would start this for a couple of years and see if anyone uses it,” Shade said.
The program would be funded with money from the county’s revolving building fund. The county uses that fund to cover the operating cost of the industrial parks and buildings, and also to spur economic development projects.
The county’s revolving building fund, money collected from county rents, will supply the Micro-Fund.
Companies applying for the incentive must meet certain criteria, including meeting with a county small business development counselor to review its business plan and financials; locate in Allegany County; stay in operation for at least one year; commit that all new hires live in Allegany County; and complete and execute a letter of intent that defines incentive, annual reporting requirements and any other conditions that may result in a prorated payment if the company does not fulfill obligations.
“If you give money up front you have a lot of issues,” said Shade. “By waiting a year, they (company) are committed, they’re here and they are going to stay in business and they are paying their employees well for our area.”
County attorney Bill Rudd is drafting the final plans for the proposal and officials hope to introduce it at a public meeting on July 14.
©2016 the Cumberland Times News (Cumberland, Md.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
