Suwannee County Economic Development Director Alvin Jackson, left, announces a new business incentive program while Commissioner Clyde Fleming looks on.

Suwannee County may begin offering tax grants to incoming or existing businesses under Economic Development Director Alvin Jackson’s new business incentive program proposal. During the Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners (Board) meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 20, Jackson announced an economic development program “identifying target industries; authorizing the expenditure of county funds for providing economic development grants to qualified applicants; [and] creating a public economic development agency.”

The program is performance-based and, under the initial proposal, the county would give a qualified business a grant for up to four years not exceeding four years’ worth of the business’ ad valorem and tangible business personal property taxes, as well as paying for scaled percentages of utility fees. 

Some of the proposed criteria for new or existing businesses include the size of the facility, new employment, wage rates, location, and target industry. The Economic Development Office outlined the county’s targeted industries as transportation and logistics; agribusiness; manufacturing; ecotourism, agritourism, and sports and recreation; clean tech; music, TV, and film production and cultural arts; retirement services; and office, headquarters, and commercial industry.

According to Jackson, the Board could alter the policy to specify the grant limit to a certain dollar amount rather than whatever the business’ taxes are, but that may put the county at risk for paying out more than what the business is paying in taxes.

Jackson stated these tax grants differ from tax abatements, which Suwannee County voters opted out of in the 2014 election.

“Tax abatement wasn’t performance-based,” said Jackson. “The grants depend on performance points, and the business has to show that performance up front before they can apply for the incentives.”

The new program is also inclusive of smaller commercial and retail businesses while Suwannee County’s former tax abatement program typically only considered larger manufacturing and industrial businesses, said Jackson.

“This is economic development policy, not just a program,” said Jackson. “It would become part of the law. Creating a policy shows the county’s commitment to support economic development and puts sustainable infrastructure in place.”

The Board came to a consensus to move forward in drafting an ordinance to put the business incentive program in place.