By Joyce Kryszak
Amherst, NY – Governor David Paterson was in Western New York Wednesday to announce a package of state and local incentives that reportedly will help create roughly 300 more jobs at Geico in Amherst.
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Geico located in Amherst in 2004 with the help over $100 million of tax breaks. 2500 jobs were promised. The company is about a 1,000 shy of that right now. But Wednesday, officials said the company will get more incentives - over three million dollars worth - to expand the facility and add another 300 jobs.
Geico President Tony Nicely was asked if those are on top of the original twenty five hundred jobs. He said it depends on the company's growth.
Nicely said, so far, they are growing faster than expected. He said the tax breaks and low cost power incentives certainly speeds that along. But at what price to taxpayers?
The company will invest $2.4 million of its own money to build the new operations center. But under the newest deal, state and local governments gave up another $1.5 million in tax breaks. The state power authority extended an additional $1.7 million dollar's worth of low cost power.
Some critics say the state is giving away the store to attract businesses that sometimes don't deliver what they promise. But Governor Paterson said the new incentives are justified.
He added that drawing companies such as Geico has what he called a "synergistic effect." Paterson said the recent news that Yahoo is coming to the region is evidence of that.