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A freight logistics company is looking for a new home and Ft. Mitchell is in contention to land it.

But the company is also considering a move to Ohio, so Ft. Mitchell city council is looking to sweeten its incentive offerings.

The name of the company was not revealed due to a non-disclosure agreement, though if it pursues incentives from the city, its name would be public.

Currently Ft. Mitchell has a payroll tax incentive available which requires that an applicant create or retain a minimum of 25 jobs or retain a minimum annual payroll of $2,500,000 to receive a 50% reduction in the rate of the occupational license fees for 5 years or a 25% reduction of the occupational license fees for 10 years.

The freight logistics company is interested in the payroll tax incentive, but city council is looking to include a gross receipts tax incentive as well.

If approved, it would offer a 50% tax credit on gross receipts, capped at $25,000 each year. The incentive would be available for the first two years that a company locates in the city. To qualify, the business must be locating to Ft. Mitchell from outside the city, have at least $2 million in annual payroll, and commit to making at least $500,000 in capital investment at its location.

Kimberly Rossetti, vice president of economic development at Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corporation (Tri-ED), which is assisting in the overtures to the logistics firm, said that the use in Ft. Mitchell would be office-based. 

“They do all the management behind the scenes,” she said.

“Pre-COVID, (freight logistics) was a sector growing tremendous and it has only increased,” Rossetti said. 

The company would be relocating 22 jobs to Ft. Mitchell with plans to add 10 to 15 positions each year. The average salary is between $60,000 and $100,000, she said.

The company plans to make a capital investment at its possible location in Ft. Mitchell of $1.5 million.

“They are looking at growing substantially over the next few years,” Rossetti said.

But, she said, it is a competitive project, and Ohio has more tools at its disposal than Kentucky and its cities.

Ohio offers property tax abatement, for example, and also has more cash at its disposal since it is privately funded through a liquor tax. “Especially with the pandemic, their revenue has gone up quite high,” Rossetti said of Ohio, noting the connection to increased liquor sales during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ft. Mitchell hopes to compete after losing Von Lehman, an accounting firm, to neighboring Ft. Wright, in part due to tax incentives offered, Mayor Jude Hehman said.

City Administrator Edwin King called the proposal “a net positive” for the city. “It is a net gain for the city for the first two years,” he said.

But the timeline is short, Rossetti said. “They are looking to make a decision in the next month.”

Ft. Mitchell council may reconvene in the first week of May to adopt the incentive option for the freight logistics firm and for other companies who may seek it out down the road.

“What I didn’t want to do is give council an ordinance for one company,” Hehman said. “It’s not just for one company but for any company that may be locating in Ft. Mitchell.”

Rossetti did not disclose where in Ft. Mitchell the company might locate, but she said that the firm is looking to acquire a property. “It shows the stickiness to a community because they have an ownership position in their property,” she said. “Currently, they are leasing, but because of their growth they want to grow and have a very big presence in the community that they choose.”

-Michael Monks, editor & publisher