Commissioners approve bond, tax break from the county

A manufacturing company moving from Advance, Mo., to Cape Girardeau County will be helped by a 10-year, 50 percent tax cut, after the Cape Girardeau County Commission approved a $6.5 million bond issue Monday.

Schaefer's Electrical Enclosures Inc. employs 120 people at its cramped 60,000-square-foot facility in the Advance Industrial Park. The company bought the building at 4860 Nash Road in December to expand its operations, and were given 60 days to complete the deal. With less than one week before the deadline, Schaefer's president, Mark Diamond, and Cape Girardeau Area Magnet executive director Mitch Robinson brought the proposal to the county commission.

The state's local industrial development bond program, known as Chapter 100, will grant ownership to the county, making the property exempt from state and local taxes. In return, Schaefer's will pay half the taxes for ten years.

Since a failed attempt to buy the Dana Corp. production facility last year, Diamond said his company has added about 25 jobs. He told the commission that they plan to add 20 to 25 more employees over the next five years.

"When we bought this company 10 years ago, we had 38 employees. We have grown this business 600 percent," Diamond said.

Schaefer's had an offer of a free building, but would have had to move out of state, he said. But Diamond told commissioners he liked the local labor force here.

"We would like to be able to tap into your work force because we like what we see," he said.

District 1 Commissioner Jay Purcell voted against the bond issue because, he said, the decision involved a tax abatement and he felt the public should get time to comment. Purcell indicated he supported Schaefer's and the company's commitment to Cape Girardeau.

Missouri's House of Representatives are currently reviewing a bill (H.B. 316) that would require a five-day meeting notice for any public governmental body addressing issues regarding changes in taxes or fees.

cwest@semissourian.com

388-3654