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City approves EDC support for NewCo Controls expansion, plan includes forgivable loan and job incentives
Summary
Council approved an EDC-backed performance agreement to assist NewCo Controls LLC in expanding local operations with a multi-part financial support package that includes forgivable loan installments and job-based incentives tied to retention and wage requirements.
The City Council approved a resolution on July 1 authorizing Wichita Falls Economic Development Corporation (EDC 4A) assistance to support an expansion by NewCo Controls LLC that city and chamber officials said will add local manufacturing capacity aimed at the data-center market.
Mariah Williams of the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce described the project as an expansion into an 81,000-square-foot building with about 60,000 square feet of additional growth planned. Williams said NewCo will "continue employing their 27 current employees, and will add about 23 new employees," and that the average wage for positions in the expansion is "above $90,000 a year."
Williams explained the assistance package includes both a forgivable loan and cash-for-jobs incentives. City staff described the loan as a two-installment structure: $500,000 in year one and $500,000 in year two, subject to compliance. The company is also offered $7,500 per new job for 23 positions; staff described a compliance and audit process that monitors payroll and retention and said forgiveness occurs over a five-year retention period. Officials said the assistance is structured under tax-based economic development rules that require qualifying manufacturers to export a high percentage of their product outside the region.
Councilors asked staff to explain how the loan works and how compliance is monitored. Chamber and EDC staff said they will conduct semiannual compliance checks, review payroll and maintain records; if the company falls short of job targets in any compliance year it would owe a prorated amount back to the city for that year rather than immediately losing the entire package.
A public motion and second were recorded and the resolution was approved by voice vote. Staff said the agreement requires the company to meet specified hiring, wage and retention benchmarks and that the EDC will monitor compliance over the multi-year term.
