by Karen Brune Mathis
Managing Editor
The Jacksonville Economic Development Commission is scheduled to consider incentives Thursday for two companies that propose to bring up to 130 jobs to town.
Ringtail Technologies Inc., dubbed “Project Lemur,” requests a Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund along with a Brownfield Bonus and a Quick Response Training grant totaling $435,000.
It proposes to create 75 administrative, technical and professional jobs at the Haydon Burns Library building Downtown, setting up its global headquarters.
“Project Seaworthy,” C2C Solutions Inc., is a subsidiary of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida.
It requests a QTI refund of $165,000 in return for creating up to 55 administrative jobs at the Blue Cross building at 532 Riverside Ave.
The QTI refund program, paid by the state and City, requires companies to create the jobs and pay their taxes before receiving the refund.
The commission will meet at 9 a.m. Thursday at City Hall in the fourth floor conference room.
In more detail:
• Ringtail, based in Belize, proposes to lease 23,200 square feet in what is now called The Library at 122 N. Ocean St. and create up to 75 new, full-time jobs in three phases by Dec. 31, 2014.
The average wage would be $45,834 plus benefits of $4,100. The jobs would consist of 15 executive and administrative positions, 20 sales and support staff, 15 engineering jobs, 15 manufacturing positions and 10 technicians.
Ringtail estimates it will invest $3 million in machinery, equipment, furniture, fixtures and telecommunications and information technology infrastructure.
Ringtail requests incentives from the QTI program with a Brownfield Bonus and a QRT customized training grant. The library is in a designated Brownfield area.
Because the average salary proposed is 115 percent of the state average, the company asks for a $5,000-per-job refund, consisting of the $3,000 QTI allowance and the $2,000 Brownfield Bonus.
The basic QTI would be $225,000, with the City responsible for $45,000 and the state responsible for $180,000.
The state also would be responsible for the $150,000 Brownfield bonus and the $60,000 Quick Response Training grant.
Ringtail claims that other U.S. cities being considered include Detroit; San Diego; and Portland, Ore., and states in the project summary that “significant incentives are being offered by other states and the majority of packages include property tax credits, tax rebates, sales tax refunds, income tax credits and sales tax credits.”
Ringtail is described as a small technology company that has developed wireless communications technology to provide Broadband Internet, VOIP services and IPTV television through a set-top box.
Ringtail CEO Ryan Younger demonstrated his company’s wireless communications system in November at The Library, saying he can make “affordable Internet, television and telephone service available to underserved markets.”
He said the technology can be provided to any television set via a “rabbit ear” antenna and set-top receiver and estimated the cost at $50 per month for all three products. Younger said the company was seeking more than $30 million in funding for the project and if successful could set up a headquarters and fabrication center at The Library.
• C2C was founded in Jacksonville in 2007 to provide insurance-related services to insurance companies and Medicare and Medicaid.
A subsidiary of Blue Cross, it provides health care sector support and administrative services in the handling and payment resolution disputes between health care providers and insurance companies.
The company is competing for a contract to provide Qualified Independent Contractor adjudication services to Medicare and Medicaid in support of reconsideration’s and appeals as required by federal law.
C2C said the incentives would help lower the payroll and operating costs to bid competitively for the national project.
C2C said the contract, if awarded, would support the creation of up to 55 new full-time financial services jobs with an average wage of $45,834 and benefits of $14,678.
It also estimates it would need to invest $900,855 in machinery, equipment, furniture and fixtures.
C2C proposes to lease unoccupied space in the building it now occupies.
It projects an annual payroll of $3.3 million, including benefits. The average wage is 115 percent of the state average.
Jobs would consist of 18 appeals specialists, 12 document managers, 14 reconsideration professionals and 11 others. The first 20 jobs would be created by end of 2011 and the remaining 35 by the end of 2012.
The $165,000 QTI would consist of $33,000 from the city and $132,000 from the state.
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