Two small manufacturers, one already based in Minden and one looking to settle in Minden, have applied for economic incentives through the Nevada Commission on Economic Development.
JRS Turbine & Blading, located in the Meridian Business Park off Airport Road, is planning a 12,580-square-foot expansion, and the establishment of eight new full-time positions with an average wage of $20.38 per hour.
The company, which currently employs 22 people, manufactures steam turbine blades and parts for major power companies.
On Thursday, Northern Nevada Development Authority representative Tim Rubald told Douglas County commissioners that JRS was "at a crossroads."
"If we as a community and state are unwilling to meet their needs, there are plenty of economic development organizations looking at them," he said.
Commissioners were asked to support the application, which sought sales and use tax abatement, modified business tax abatement and personal property tax abatement.
Rubald said the county would only be affected by personal property tax abatement, about $130,000 worth. But he said the cost would be offset by new property tax revenues.
"This is not a give away," he said. "You're creating additional tax dollars for the county. Fresh money will be coming into the economy."
Commissioners approved not only the JRS application but a similar application for Q-4 Pack Company, a fruit beverage producer looking to locate in the Meridian Business Park.
A startup of Sparks-based Fruitful Juice Products, Q-4 would employ seven people with an average wage of $21.89 per hour. The company is seeking about $250,000 worth of personal property tax abatement.
"These incentives are one of the main reasons we continue to consider Nevada as a possible place for our business and it would be sad to see this opportunity for both Nevada as well as Q-4 Pack Company slip away," Chief Financial Officer Philip Woodruff wrote in a letter to the Nevada Commission on Economic Development.
However, Gardnerville resident Jack Van Dien criticized the tax incentives.
"It's one thing to grant tax reductions for a business coming into the area, but to consider ongoing tax favoritism is not in the best interest of the business itself if that business is not viable and cannot stand on its own two feet without something from the taxpayers," he said.
"I agree that bailouts are anathema," Commissioner Greg Lynn said, "but I want to keep something alive and growing in an environment where things are dying and going away."
County Manager T. Michael Brown said at the heart of the issue is a policy debate about whether or not the board wants to use tax incentives as tools for economic development.
