(Posted Jan. 25, 2017)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
The Madison County commissioners approved a tax abatement agreement with Jefferson Industries Corp. (JIC) on Jan. 23.
The agreement grants a 100 percent property tax exemption for 15 years on planned expansions at the West Jefferson auto parts manufacturing facility.
JIC is looking at a two-phase expansion project to house new production lines. The first phase would add 61,000 square feet to the northwest side of the company’s Route 29 facility and cost $5 million to $8 million. The second phase would add 60,000 to 80,000 square feet to the backside of the facility. The projects also call for purchase and installation of new machinery and equipment at a cost of $11 million to $15 million.
Construction of phase one is slated to be complete by December 2018. If JIC opts to proceed with phase two, construction is expected to start in the summer of 2018 and finish up no later than December 2020.
The expansions are expected to create approximately 20 new full-time jobs over the next three years with a total new annual payroll of about $680,000. Per the agreement, JIC is expected to also retain the 512 existing full-time jobs at the West Jefferson facility, maintaining the current $28.8 million payroll.
In a separate compensation agreement, JIC has agreed to pay Jefferson Local Schools, Jefferson Township, and Tolles Career and Technical Center funds in lieu of taxes. The company will make the following one-time payments: $200,000 to Jefferson Local Schools, $70,000 to the township, and $10,000 to Tolles. If JIC moves forward with phase two, the company will pay Jefferson Local Schools another one-time sum of $150,000.
Before the expansion projects can move forward, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority must sign off on a job creation tax credit. That decision is expected by Feb. 1, said David Kell, executive director of the Madison County Future Inc. Community Improvement Corp.
