Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

The State of Florida, the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County have approved $34.4 million in tax incentives to convince Jabil Circuit stays in the area.

…The city would contribute $12.7-million and the county about $1.7-million through grants, tax refunds and new road and utility improvements benefiting Jabil.

… In return, Jabil must hire 858 new workers at an average annual salary of $42,685 a year, or 115 percent of the area’s average wage. Jabil must also build a new $49-million campus, generating about $300,000 annually in new tax revenue to the city.

The county and city estimate the deal would produce an annual economic impact in Pinellas of $68-million.

But we are not supposed to know this.

In two separate meetings, the County Commission approved the deal without mentioning which company would benefit. County Administrator Fred Marquis confirmed it was Jabil.

The city, however, took the secrecy further by quietly adding the incentive package to its council agenda just hours before a June 19 meeting. The council approved the incentives without any discussion or mention of what they were voting on.

It was buried with dozens of routine matters that were voted on as a group, making it nearly impossible for the public to know that the city was committing millions in public dollars to a private company.

That’s not “Government in the Sunshine.”

The City Council’s actions violated the spirit though not the letter of Florida’s Government-in-the-Sunshine Law, said Adria Harper, director of Florida’s First Amendment Foundation.

“The whole point of the Sunshine Law is to give citizens a window into the government process,” Harper said.

Florida’s “sunshine” law exempts economic development deals, so there was nothing illegal here. Still, I’d like more details. Is there a target date for hiring the 858? Is there a minimum amount of time they must commit to keeping them employed? Is there a deadline for building the new campus? Are they required to pay back the money if they fail?

I’m all for economic incentives to bring more jobs to the area. But good grief, let’s make sure all the t’s are crossed and they i’s dotted, and don’t leave taxpayers on the hook.

Like the city of Largo, all local government officials need to learn from what is happeneing at Neilsen of Olsdmar, where they continue to lay off workers, and outsource jobs.

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