Legislation was filed Tuesday for City and state incentives for Global Software Services Inc., doing business as Latitude Software, to create 30 jobs in Jacksonville paying an average salary of $67,670 a year.
The jobs to be created are software development engineers and professional management positions.
Chris Hand, chief of staff to Mayor Alvin Brown, said the bill will be introduced Tuesday to City Council.
The legislation calls for a combined $180,000 tax refund to Global Software to be refunded over time as it creates the 30 jobs by Dec. 31, 2014. The City would refund $36,000 and the state would pay $144,000, for a total of $6,000 per job.
The Jacksonville Economic Development Commission approved a Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund in December for the company, which said in a project summary that it would choose between expanding in Jacksonville or consolidating operations at its Indianapolis corporate headquarters.
Interactive Intelligence Group Inc., based in Indianapolis, is the parent company of Global Software Services. Latitude Software operates at 7800 Belfort Parkway in Southside and employed 41 people as of December.
In addition to the average salary, the company also said the jobs will offer a benefits package totaling $5,400.
“As an update, we are continuing to go through the local and state approval process related to job growth in Latitude’s Jacksonville location, and I understand that pending approvals this could take another 30 to 45 days,” said Stephen Head, CFO of Interactive Intelligence, in an email Tuesday.
Latitude Software develops proprietary software and services primarily used by the debt collection industry. It serves more than 200 clients including banks, credit unions and auto finance companies.
According to the JEDC project summary filed with the Council legislation, Latitude Software was founded in Jacksonville in 1997. Global Software Services, doing business as Latitude Software, was founded in 1998 and incorporated in the state in 2002. Interactive Intelligence bought the company in 2010.
The parent company employs 700 people in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. In the United States, the company has offices in Indianapolis; Herndon, Va.; Greenwood Village, Colo.; Irvine, Calif.; and Jacksonville.
According to the proposal, the company has been evaluating expansion of its office in Jacksonville, or alternatively, consolidation of operations in its Indianapolis corporate headquarters facility.
Because the proposed salary is 150 percent of the state average and the jobs proposed are in the information technology field, which is a state-targeted high impact sector industry, the proposal meets the requirements for a $6,000 per job tax refund, according to the JEDC.
The City’s portion of the $180,000 QTI would be 20 percent of the award up to $36,000. The state’s portion of the award would be 80 percent up to $144,000.
The refund would be paid to the company in 25 percent annual increments beginning two years after the first new jobs are created.
The total amount of the refund is based on the actual number of new jobs created and the verified salaries of the jobs, with a reduction in refund if the approved parameters are not met. Taxes that qualify for the refund include corporate income, sales, ad valorem, intangible personal property, insurance premium and others.
To support the expansion, the company proposes to invest $1 million in new purchases of machinery, furniture and equipment in $500,000 increments in 2012 and 2013, according to the project summary.
Carl Harkleroad, Global Software Services founder and president, attended the JEDC meeting in December. He said the company has identified growth opportunities among banks and other financial institutions that have what he called “dated software” that has to be replaced to meet new industry regulations.
The company also has diversified its client services into providing Web hosting, servers and other Internet-based services, he said.
“The big growth for us will be in the hosting side of the business. In this economy, people don’t want to make the capital investment. They’d rather pay us a monthly fee,” said Harkleroad.
The commission unanimously approved the QTI, sending it to Council for its consideration.
“With the financial support of the parent company and the financial assistance available through the state of Florida Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund Program, Latitude Software has the opportunity to expand its customer base and increase the professional workforce by an additional 30 employees within 36 months after the financial assistance package is approved between Dec. 31, 2012, and Dec. 31, 2014,” said the project summary.
The job-creation schedule shows that 10 jobs would be added by Dec. 31 each year from 2012-14.
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