Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves emergency tax abatement for local engineering firm’s expansion
Summary
The council approved an emergency enhanced-enterprise-zone ad-valorem tax abatement for Allgrounder Martin (AMA) to support a ~13,000 sq. ft. addition, a $3.7M estimated cost and a job-creation commitment used to set the abatement term and scale.
The Joplin City Council on Dec. 1 approved an emergency ordinance authorizing an enhanced-enterprise-zone property-tax abatement for Allgrounder Martin (referred to in the transcript as AMA/Alguerra Martin) to support a roughly 13,000-square-foot addition at Crossroads Industrial Park.
City staff explained the program’s sliding scale ties the level and duration of abatement to job creation and wages. Under the city’s guidelines and state statute, AMA proposed adding approximately 12 jobs over six years and four jobs within two years; staff recommended a 10-year, 50% abatement rate under the sliding scale because the company’s planned job creation met the program thresholds.
Chris Harris, speaking for Allgrounder Martin, told council the company employs roughly 138 full-time workers in Joplin and described the expansion as a measured growth that will bring approximately 53 new workstations. Staff said the addition’s build cost is approximately $3.7 million and the company planned to invest an additional $400,000 in furniture, fixtures and equipment.
Why it matters: Enhanced-enterprise-zone abatements are intended to incentivize investment and job creation. The abatement is conditioned on job-creation tests (with a two-year test date for initial job creation). City staff said they had notified taxing jurisdictions and followed state program rules; council approved the emergency ordinance on the record (vote recorded 9–0).
Next steps and safeguards: Staff will monitor job-creation benchmarks and the city’s enterprise-zone board will oversee compliance. Council did not modify the proposed abatement on the floor and advanced the ordinance as an emergency measure to be effective immediately.
