The state's multi-million dollar incentive package to lure NCR to Georgia included a $13 million grant to buy real estate, equipment and other assets, pushing the total value to well over $100 million.
In documents released to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution through the Georgia Open Records Act, the Georgia Department of Economic Development disclosed that it sweetened the pot to attract the Ohio-based company with money from the Regional Economic Business Assistance Program or REBA.
The agency said it agreed to give NCR a REBA grant of $8 million in 2009 through the Fayette County Development Authority, according to the documents. The state plans to recommend a $5 million grant later this month for 2010.
The state Department of Community Affairs, which administers REBA, says the program is used to help "close the deal" when luring companies. It has existed for more than a decade and was used in dozens of prior deals, including one that helped draw a Kia Motors plant to West Point.
Brian Williamson, assistant commissioner for the community affairs department, said his department has received the request for the $8 million, but has not been contacted about the $5 million.
It's inclusion in the state's package to NCR brings the total incentives offered to $109 million, according to an AJC analysis. Georgia officials initially pegged the value of the state's offer at $60 million.
Georgia officials announced June 2 that NCR, which makes cash registers, ATMs, and airport check-in kiosks, will move its headquarters to Duluth and open a new plant in Columbus. The moves will bring 2,120 jobs to the state.
NCR had already announced a 900-job expansion at existing facilities in Duluth and in Peachtree City, which is in Fayette County.
The state proposed millions in incentives, including a break on corporate tax bills and $15 million worth of training and research assistance. The bulk of the money will come to the company through Georgia's Mega Jobs Tax Credit, which allows NCR to retain as much as $87 million in state payroll taxes.
State records show REBA grants have gone to both big and small companies over the past four years. The agency had a balance of about $8 million as of Thursday, with commitments totaling about $6.6 million.
Notable recipients include Newell Rubbermaid, which got $650,000 in REBA funds through the Fulton County Development Authority; Hewlett-Packard, which got $750,000 via the Gwinnett Authority; and Toyo Tire North America, which got $1.3 million from the Bartow-Cartersville Joint Development Authority.
Kia Motors got a combined $46.6 million in REBA funds.
Tim Mescon, president of Columbus State University, said the outlay may sound generous given the state's economic crunch. But he said the rules of job creation change in such a drastic recession.
"If you talk to economic development experts, they will say their world has changed," he said. "We don't have a rational basis for comparison right now. It just doesn't exist."
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