New Monroe-Randolph joint enterprise zone sees first successes
Zone helps to attract and retain over 140 jobs for the region
The recently designated Monroe-Randolph County Enterprise Zone has produced its first two success stories, Administrator Edie Koch says.
DeRossett Investments LLC broke ground this month on a three-story, 35,000-square-foot building that will consolidate and relocate its medical canvassing companies to a site on Old Bluff Road in Monroe County, creating more than 130 full-time permanent jobs.
Steve DeRossett, president of DeRossett Investments LLC, said, “We had other location options in Missouri and Florida, but state and local benefits brought to the table, that included the enterprise zone building materials sales tax exemption and the investment tax credit, made the site in Columbia, Ill., the best option.”
In Randolph County, Next Level Metal , an artisanal metal fabricator experiencing rapid growth, has decided to invest in a building and property in an enterprise zone site in Evansville, Ill., bringing more than a dozen jobs.
The Monroe – Randolph County Enterprise Zone was established on Jan. 1, 2020, to attract new industry and revitalize existing business. The zone provides financial incentives, reducing operating and construction costs, that promote job creation and business investment.
Bob Elmore, chairman of the Monroe-Randolph County Enterprise Zone Management Organization, and Monroe County Board of Commissioners chairman, stated, “The decision to pursue an Enterprise Zone designation for the Monroe-Randolph county area came out of a need and desire to make our region more competitive and successful in attracting and expanding commercial and industrial businesses in the two-county area.”
Dave Holder, chairman of the Randolph County Board of Commissioners added, “The award of the Zone designation was a significant accomplishment for our two-county area. Local government leaders in Monroe and Randolph counties, Evansville, Chester, Columbia, Red Bud, Sparta, Valmeyer, and Waterloo, worked diligently behind the scenes for a year to attain state approval.”
Illinois Enterprise Zones have a proven record of success in stimulating the overall growth of an economy. According to annual state reporting, in 2018 nearly 5,500 jobs were created, 41,000 jobs retained, and $1.1 billion in capital investment occurred from businesses that received tax incentives through an Illinois Enterprise Zone.
Businesses already within a zone, or that agree to move into one, can qualify for the following tax incentives:
· Exemption on retailers’ occupation tax paid on building materials.
· A 0.5 percent investment tax credit against state income tax.
· Expanded state sales tax exemptions on purchases of personal property used or consumed in the manufacturing process or operation of a pollution control facility for projects that meet certain job and investment requirements.
· An exemption on the state utility tax for electricity/natural gas and the Illinois Commerce Commission’s admin charge and telecommunication excise tax for projects that meet certain job and investment requirements.
Businesses that have development projects and desire more information on the Monroe-Randolph County Enterprise Zone and/or how to access its economic development incentives, should contact the appropriate municipality , or if in an unincorporated area, the appropriate county, for assistance.
About Monroe-Randolph County Enterprise Zone
A contiguous, approximately 15-mile, area in portions of unincorporated Monroe and Randolph counties, and the municipalities of Chester, Evansville, Sparta, Red Bud, Valmeyer, Waterloo and Columbia. The Monroe-Randolph county designation became effective on Jan. 1, 2020, for an initial period of 15 years with the possibility of a 10-year extension. Businesses already in the zone area, or interested in locating there, are eligible for certain enterprise zone incentives. A map of the zone can be found at Interactive Monroe-Randolph Enterprise Zone Map.
About the Monroe-Randolph County Enterprise Zone Management Organization
This is the governing body for the zone. Chief elected officials (or their appointed representatives) of the nine participating local governments of the Monroe-Randolph Enterprise Zone make up this organization. Their authority covers amendments to the enterprise zone map, changes to the intergovernmental agreement, the addition of additional zone incentives, and the appointment of the enterprise zone administrator. Day-to-day decision making on how the zone is administered is the responsibility of the enterprise zone administrator, ekoch@mciledc.com.
MAP: The new enterprise zone is represented by the dark lines connecting the towns and adjacent tracts from Columbia to the north to Chester to the south, with nine local governments in all.
