Tax incentive supported

After a year and a half, Boone County’s first tax-incentive plan returned to the county commissionners’ table, who gave it the nod to proceed.

Commissioners held a hearing on Thursday concerning the Chapter 100 bonds plan. The proposal, which supporters hope will attract more business and jobs to Boone County, is sponsored by Regional Economic Development Inc., a public-private partnership formed by the city of Columbia to help implement economic plans. The commission endorsed the plan and encouraged the partnership’s officials to take it to Columbia City Council.

“We support it, but we don’t want to adopt it until the City Council does,” Southern District Commissioner Karen Miller said.

“That’s good,” former partnership chairman Dave Griggs said. “We’ve been working on this for three years.”

If passed, the incentive plan would enable a new company with a county investment of more than $15 million to join with an existing company with an investment of at least $7.5 million. The companies could then reduce their property tax by 50 percent for 10 years.

School districts would feel the bulk of the impact. Columbia School Board member Elton Fay told the commission that the board is divided.

“We did have some concerns, since we will be the biggest one hit,” Fay said. “Especially this year; we don’t know what (state budget) legislation will hold for us.”

Miller said that, without new development, there would be no new revenue for the school district, the city or the county.

The partnership’s efforts to introduce development incentives to Boone County began in 2002. In December 2003, the group submitted a formal proposal to the county commission, which suggested that the partnership meet with representatives of cities and school districts around the county. Officials of small cities varied in their reaction. Centralia adopted the proposal in early January, while Hallsville voted it down in March.

Bernie Andrews, the economic development partnership’s director, said the agency would contact Columbia Mayor Darwin Hindman soon and ask for a time to submit the plan to City Council.

“The environment of investment is changing hourly,” said Griggs. “Columbia is a community with high quality of life, but we don’t have a lot of potential opportunities. We want to create a more competitive place, which will attract more college graduates with good jobs.”