The Covington Board of Commissioners approved another set of job incentives and tax breaks for the Fischer Group, which is planning on relocating its headquarters to Covington by the end of 2027, as part of the consent agenda of its meeting on Tuesday.
This marks the latest in a long line of incentives from multiple government sources facilitating the company’s move, first announced last summer. Its new location will be found on 525 Scott Street in Covington, the location of the now-defunct First District Elementary School.
The company, its partners and subsidiaries hope to expand the building’s footprint from its current 65,000 square feet to about 95,000 square feet. This will include the addition of three new stories to the existing building’s north end and one new story above the building’s gym. The company hopes to complete the work by the end of 2027.
City documents put the overall value of the renovations at roughly $20.9 million. A development agreement also gave a breakdown of how the company plans to pay for it: about $11.3 million in loans, about $7.5 million in cash equity and $2 million in grant funding from the county.
Fischer Group hopes to create about 500 new full-time jobs at the facility over the next 10 years. The redevelopment agreement set the salary range at $90,000 to $119,000 per year. Last year, the city approved a 10-year reduced payroll tax rate of 1.25% as an incentive if it brought jobs into the city. The county also approved an occupational tax break last May.
This newest incentive involves refunding TIF funding to the company after the company submits a request to the city. TIF stands for tax increment financing and is an economic development tool used by government agencies, usually to finance needed infrastructure projects, including sewers, streets, parking lots and related costs. Taxes generated in a TIF district past a certain threshold are redirected into a separate fund that can be used for specific projects rather than public services generally.
To get the incentive, the company pays normally, then applies for a refund. It can only apply for a refund if it creates a minimum number of jobs and payroll, ditto for the reduced tax rate. The minimum number of jobs to qualify for the full incentives is 305. All incentives dissolve after 10 years. The most the company could request in refunds is $140,000 per year (assuming they meet their job creation requirements).
The table below gives a graphical representation of how the incentives work. Click for a larger image.
