New jobs in city's future

Walt Wood of the Shelbyville Bedford County Chamber of Commerce, standing, informed Shelbyville's city council about the possibility of two local business expansions. The city's Industrial Development Board will meet next week to consider a pair of requests for tax abatement in connection with the proposed projects.
(T-G Photo by Brian Mosely)

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Chamber of Commerce head Walt Wood gave the city council his annual briefing about economic development in Shelbyville and Bedford County, giving them a heads up about future prospects.

Wood said that they are working with two existing companies that are in the process of planning expansions, but stated their plans are not yet complete.

One of the businesses is close to completing "a major equipment purchase," while the other is looking at a building expansion and additional equipment, Wood said.

Working with the Industrial Development Board, Wood has prepared project proposals for both of the companies for the State Department of Economic and Community Development, but the package won't be complete until the board acts next week.

Abatement proposed

The board meets next Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Shelbyville police station, when they will consider two requests for tax abatement for the possible expansions.

Based on capital investment and job creation, the proposed abatements would be on a declining scale, such as a zero percent tax in year one, 50 percent tax payment in year five, with a full payment in year 11.

The actual amount of the proposed abatements would be based upon assessment and tax rates for that year, equaling about a 50 percent abatement over a 10-year-period.

City manager Jay Johnson explained to the T-G that the tax abatement is the standard one that Shelbyville and Bedford County have used in the past through the Industrial Board.

"Because this represents new investment in the community, it's additional tax revenue, so even though we're abating a portion of it, whatever we get is still new, it's still growth," Johnson said.

Other expansion?

Wood hoped the two projects could come to conclusion before Christmas, but he told the council he could not say what the final outcome was going to be until the companies themselves acted.

"We're excited about that," Wood said, noting that he was being vague about the news to the council, but stressed that when the deals are closed, the companies will make the announcement.

Part of Wood's job is to visit businesses around the community and work with the state of Tennessee on improvements and training grants. He said there are "probably four other companies" that are planning some expansion in the future, which he termed good news.

Economic impact

Council members were also provided with copies of a report from the state on the economic impact of possible new jobs in Bedford County.

If 100 jobs came to the county paying $14 an hour, with an average wage of $29,120 a year, a total of 89 secondary jobs would be created, resulting in $5,824,000 generated in direct and indirect income. That would mean a total of $449,804 in new annual state and local sales tax.

The income generated is derived from wages and salaries only and does not include components of revenue, and the tax revenue estimates do not include property tax.

The impact numbers are estimates by the Economic and Community Development Research Division, and are based on formulas provided by the University of Tennessee's Center for Business and Economic Research.

Good climate

Wood also took issue with a recent study by Beacon Center of Tennessee about Shelbyville's business climate because of the data they used, particularly the city's high school graduation rate.

"From what I see with these companies, we do have a strong business climate here," Wood said. "You wouldn't see these companies considering several million dollars worth of investment if this wasn't a good place to do business."

Wood gave several examples of expansions, such as the recent openings of Waffle House, Sears, BK Deli, and the expansion of other established businesses in town.

Waffle House alone hired 48 people, and Wood said during a visit to the new restaurant, an employee came up and thanked him for his new job.

"To me, that's what it's all about," Wood said.

Wood also told the council that a recent examination of the area's tourism revealed that the state's welcome centers at Ardmore and Nickajack send the area the most visitors.

Recently, the staffs of the welcome centers spent two days in the county familiarizing themselves not only with Shelbyville and the Celebration, but Wartrace and Bell Buckle. Wood said if they know more about what we have to offer, they can send more tourists our way.