City approves $2million incentive for Paycom

[mugofbeer]

I'm talking about Paycom. I'm fine with employers getting incentives to hire people as long as it isn't a direct payment like the city voted for United, Micron Technologies, Boeing, etc. Thank God none of them chose OKC.

[andy157]

I'm talking about Paycom. I'm fine with employers getting incentives to hire people as long as it isn't a direct payment like the city voted for United, Micron Technologies, Boeing, etc. Thank God none of them chose OKC.

Gotcha, my bad. Since you mentioned these other companies, I have a question, maybe you know the answer. Did Dell fullfill their promise as to the number of jobs that would be created and sustained in return for the incentives they recieved? How about Quad-graphics, have they? Remember Tower-Tech? I may be wrong, but I seem to remember the City taking a bath on that deal.

[Spartan]

Dell has not come near fulfilling their promise of.. was it 3,500 jobs? They topped out just under 2,000, now it's less than 1,000 with plans to go back up. I think, I may be wrong.

TowerTech, no longer even in OKC? My parents live out there across I-44, by Earlywine..I was surprised to see a different company's sign outside that building.

[Larry OKC]

Dell has not come near fulfilling their promise of.. was it 3,500 jobs? They topped out just under 2,000, now it's less than 1,000 with plans to go back up. I think, I may be wrong....

I couldn't recall...quick search brought up this


Dell Selects Oklahoma City Site for New Facility; Dell Employment in Area Expected to Reach 700 by Year-End. - Business Wire | HighBeam Research - FREE Article
(Business Wire, October 29, 2004)

Dell announced the selection of Oklahoma for a customer contact center in July, with the intention of employing 250 people. The company currently operates at a temporary location in Oklahoma City’s Hertz Financial Center. At ceremonies today marking the opening of this temporary facility, Dell officials said the company’s continuous growth, coupled with the high caliber of the area workforce, has prompted the expansion of its local employment base to 500. Dell now expects to employ approximately 700 people by the end of 2004.

At first glance it looked like they exceeded projections, but from the City’s site:
City of Oklahoma City | Dell, Inc. Project

What was the City’s portion of the incentive package?
$5.5 million in job creation incentives - which will be funded by a forgivable section 108 loan and up to $11.7 million in infrastructure improvements. The $11.7 will be funded by a new Tax Increment Financing District.

What kind of return do we expect on this investment?
Based on a three year ramp up of 3,000 employees[/B], we anticipate an annual direct economic impact of $246.5 million and an indirect economic impact of $135.9 million in year three. During the l 4 year ramp up period, we anticipate a cumulative overall economic impact of $764.7 million.

...

... We structured our incentive package to the company in the same way – as they add additional jobs, we provide that incentive. This is not a “cash upfront” type of offer. Our package is based on the potential of up to 3,000 jobs at an average salary of $40,000.

Now the question is when they had the layoffs, did the City get any money back?

Doesn’t look like they ever got to the 3,000 mark...
http://newsok.com/article/3199275/1201811506?

Dell to lay off 10 percent of Oklahoma City workforce (Oklahoman, 1/31/08)

Dell Inc. will lay off about 200 workers as it eliminates the consumer sales division at its Oklahoma City site.

Dell Spokeswoman Kathy Oden-Hall declined to discuss employee numbers, but said the layoffs affect “a relative small percentage of our overall population.” After the layoffs, Dell’s employee numbers will “hover around 2,000; maybe a little more or a little less,” Oden-Hall said.

Pre-layoff, that put them at 2,200 mol

I know, I know, if it hadn’t been for the economy...(sorry Spartan) ... but at the 3 year mark when they were supposed to have been at 3,000, they were “only” at 2,200. Not sure what their current numbers are...did they have another massive round of layoffs (if the 1,000 number is correct)?

[andy157]

I couldn't recall...quick search brought up this


Dell Selects Oklahoma City Site for New Facility; Dell Employment in Area Expected to Reach 700 by Year-End. - Business Wire | HighBeam Research - FREE Article
(Business Wire, October 29, 2004)


At first glance it looked like they exceeded projections, but from the City’s site:
City of Oklahoma City | Dell, Inc. Project



Now the question is when they had the layoffs, did the City get any money back?

Doesn’t look like they ever got to the 3,000 mark...
http://newsok.com/article/3199275/1201811506?

Dell to lay off 10 percent of Oklahoma City workforce (Oklahoman, 1/31/08)



Pre-layoff, that put them at 2,200 mol

I know, I know, if it hadn’t been for the economy...(sorry Spartan) ... but at the 3 year mark when they were supposed to have been at 3,000, they were “only” at 2,200. Not sure what their current numbers are...did they have another massive round of layoffs (if the 1,000 number is correct)?

I sure hope I'm wrong. But I would bet that Dell recieved and kept everything they demanded and we got shorted 1,000 jobs give or take a couple of hundred. I agree with Spartan. I thought I saw somewhere that the # of jobs was to be 3,500. Either way it appears a refund of incentives from Dell to the City would be in order.

[J.B.Richison]

I can state with %100 certainty that the incentive is in the best interest of all Oklahoma residents.

[kevinpate]

I can state with %100 certainty that the incentive is in the best interest of all Oklahoma residents.

For those lacking that level of certainty, might I respectfully suggest the floor is yours to further expound on why you do hold that level of certainty?

Not a challenge by any means, merely an invitation.

[Spartan]

Well it's good that Mr. Richison believes in economic development..I just wish that the pro-business powers that be in this state would grasp some concept that would truly build a foundation for success in Oklahoma........education. To hell with corporate welfare and taxes, as long as virtually every business in America would rather office in Minneapolis than Oklahoma City. You have to ask yourself just what is the magical force that keeps OKC from making much headway on this over the last dozen years or so??

[Midtowner]

Where are all the call center haters? Haven't seen them show up yet in this thread.

Even if it was a call center, the jobs average 40K. That's a big difference compared to the $10-$12/hour call centers pay.

[J.B.Richison]

With the ever expansion of Paycom, including: its clients, territories, services, operations, and opportunities, all Oklahoma City Residents and Tulsa residents can rest assured that more quality career opportunities with a devoted Oklahoman company will be offered.

http://www.i-newswire.com/paycom-ceo-chad-richison-named/36459

[betts]

I'm not sure how this outlet mall could be considered a "local company". I wonder sometimes. How did companies, local or not ever survive in the free market system prior to taxpayer incentives?

They probably didn't have to deal with cost of living raises, rapid rise in health and dental insurance costs, pension plans, lawyers and lawsuits. The free market hasn't been free for a long time.

[Spartan]

With the ever expansion of Paycom, including: its clients, territories, services, operations, and opportunities, all Oklahoma City Residents and Tulsa residents can rest assured that more quality career opportunities with a devoted Oklahoman company will be offered.

http://www.i-newswire.com/paycom-ceo-chad-richison-named/36459

Mr. Richison, thanks for chiming in here. Question--is it more important to you, as the CEO of a rapidly growing business, for a host city to have a high-quality diverse and educated workforce to power your company or for your company to qualify for tax rebates and other economic incentive programs? (assuming that the two scenarios can not coexist, which of course they would in a perfect world)

[BG918]

How many total Paycom employees are there in OKC and Tulsa? I know someone who works for them and has lived in OKC, Los Angeles, and now Atlanta. They are nationwide and growing rapidly.

[t3h_wookiee]

Mr. Richison, thanks for chiming in here. Question--is it more important to you, as the CEO of a rapidly growing business, for a host city to have a high-quality diverse and educated workforce to power your company or for your company to qualify for tax rebates and other economic incentive programs? (assuming that the two scenarios can not coexist, which of course they would in a perfect world)

Spartan, I really don't think this J.B.Richison is Chad, the CEO of Paycom, as Chad is more well-spoken than this.

[andy157]

They probably didn't have to deal with cost of living raises, rapid rise in health and dental insurance costs, pension plans, lawyers and lawsuits. The free market hasn't been free for a long time.

So that entitles them to taxpayer assistance?

[betts]

We all have taxpayer assistance. You certainly do, as do I. Taxpayers assist one another in myriad ways. Again, if tax credits lead to creation of new businesses, or keep businesses here that might move, I'm all for them. Then, we as taxpayers create jobs. Our economy is so complex that we're all a web of interconnectedness. If 10% of the businesses here fail, that's far fewer jobs. Taxpayers pay your salary and mine. If we have fewer of them, then the city/state or federal government has trouble paying our salaries. Certainly the problems on Wall Street and in the banking industry demonstrated quite resoundingly how much all of us can be affected by things that happen elsewhere.

I don't necessarily think the moratorium is a bad idea (although I want historic tax credits kept intact). If there are abuses of the tax credit system, it would be nice to see them eliminated. I'm not sure how much faith I have that that will happen, but it's a nice prospect. But, that doesn't mean I think the concept of tax credits is wrong...far from it.