A bill approving a $160,000 property tax incentive for packaging manufacturer Malnove Holding Co. to expand its Jacksonville operation is scheduled to be introduced Nov. 24 to City Council.
Council President Tommy Hazouri filed Resolution 2020-272 last week at the request of Mayor Lenny Curry.
If Council approves the legislation, Malnove would receive a five-year, 50% Recapture Enhanced Value Grant in exchange for creating 10 full-time jobs and a $7.4 million investment in machinery, equipment, furniture and fixtures.
Omaha, Nebraska-based Malnove expanded to the city in 1981 and has 182 employees in Jacksonville.
The company bought a site in 1998 at Imeson International Industrial Park in North Jacksonville and built a 235,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, according to a memo to city Chief Administrative Officer Brian Hughes.
Malnove also leases 100,500 square feet of additional warehouse space.
According to a development agreement filed with the bill, Malnove is required to have all 10 jobs in place by the end of 2024.
The performance schedule in the agreement shows Malnove completing the equipment purchase and installation by Dec. 31, 2022.
A city Office of Economic Development legislative fact sheet says the proposed incentive is a material factor in Malnove’s decision to expand in Jacksonville rather than at its manufacturing sites in Omaha or in Clearfield, Utah.
The fact sheet calls the jobs entry level. The positions would pay $36,500 per year plus benefits, but that does not meet minimum wage requirements for REV Grants in the city’s public investment policy. The bill asks Council for a waiver.
Businesses requesting REV grants are required to offer wages equal to Florida’s average annual wage of about $49,000, according to city Director of Economic Development Kirk Wendland.