The Little Rock Board of Directors approved two economic measures as part of its consent agenda Tuesday that are projected to bring jobs to the city.
The board voted unanimously with one member absent and without discussion to approve the resolutions.
The first resolution authorized the city to issue Industrial Development Revenue Bonds to help Dassault Falcon Jet Corp. expand its operations at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field.
The same type of bonds have been routinely approved by the board to help companies finance expansions or infrastructure inside the city limits. The bonds are nontaxable and can be paid back through facility revenue as opposed to traditional commercial loans, which would charge interest.
Dassault will sign a lease agreement with the city, and the rental price of the facility will be used to pay off the bonds, which will not exceed $60 million.
Dassault announced the expansion in May after a five-year exploration process that focused on Little Rock and two other locations. The expansion, if built elsewhere, was estimated to bring 400 jobs, but the company has declined to say how many jobs would come with expanding its existing operations in Little Rock.
The second resolution approved by the board gives local endorsement of an Arkansas economic development tax incentive to help an electrical infrastructure company build a facility in Little Rock.
The vote authorized the local portion of the Arkansas Tax Back Program for Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator Inc. Company representatives have said the company will make a $15 million investment in its new facility and bring about 60 jobs to the city.
Local endorsement is a requirement because a portion of the taxes that are returned come from local sales tax revenue.
The city has approved other similar agreements recently, including one approved in July with Fidelity National Information Services to help support an expansion of the technology company in Little Rock. Fidelity representatives have said the incentive will help with $3 million in investment and a planned 200-job expansion.
Arkansas, Pages 13 on 08/07/2013