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Home > About BNE > Press Room > 2007 Archive > July > Continued success in Genesee County Empire Zone

News Release

Genesee County Economic Development Center
1 Mill Street  Batavia, NY  14020
Phone:  585/343-4866  Fax:  585/343-0848  e-mail: gcedc@gcedc.com

Date:  July 12, 2007

For Further Information Contact:
Steven C. Lockwood, VP & Empire Zone Coordinator
585/343-4866
Continued Success in Genesee County Empire Zone


Batavia, NY  -  "The Genesee County Empire Zone continues to be a powerful economic development tool," said Genesee County VP & Zone Coordinator Steven Lockwood.  At the end of 2006, its fourth full year of existence, the Genesee County zone has 43 certified zone businesses, employing an average of 2,034 people, with an overall annual gross payroll of $77.7 million in the local community.  Genesee County Zone businesses created a combined 258 net new jobs in 2006, which represents a 12.7% increase in employment during the period.  The local zone employers with the largest increase in zone employment during 2006 were:

-   Wellsville Carpet Town (Ashley Furniture Homestores)   55
-   Pioneer Credit Recovery   41
-   Lapp Insulator   25
-   O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative   18


"The Empire Zones program provides a great incentive for companies to make capital investments in their businesses, particularly in production equipment," said Genesee County Zone Coordinator Lockwood.  "Genesee County zone businesses made total capital investments of $27.6 million in 2006.  Of that total, fully $18.8 million was invested in production equipment.  An additional $5.6 million was made in new construction of buildings."


"The Empire Zones program is designed to reward business growth and success," said Lockwood.  "The beauty of the program is that the tax credits have been structured to be achieved when businesses grow employment, make qualifying capital investments, and are generally profitable.  In 2006, Genesee County zone businesses realized total Empire Zone tax credits of $3.8 million.  Of that total, $1.1 million were granted in Investment Tax Credits, directly rewarding capital investments made by zone businesses in equipment and buildings.  Another $1.02 million of zone property tax credits were granted in 2006.  An important benefit of the zone property tax credits is that the businesses pay all of their local property taxes as scheduled, and receive the tax credit when the New York State tax returns are filed.  So, the property taxes that are paid stay in the local communities, enhancing our local tax base."

"To put some of these results into perspective, we identified some key measures.  Employment in the Genesee County zone increased by 12.7% in 2006.  Total capital investments made in our zone were over seven times the level of total tax credits received by the businesses.  At the GCEDC, we like to measure the results of  our efforts in terms of an overall economic impact.  We do that by calculating what we call an Economic Impact Return On Investment (ROI).  We add together overall zone wages & benefits, capital investments and estimated increases in property taxes.  The result is the overall benefit to the community, which is then divided by the total tax credits received by the companies, or the cost of the program.  In 2006, the economic impact ROI for Genesee County Empire Zone was over 27 to 1.  That is, for every $1 dollar in cost of the program, the zone offered $27 in economic support.  We are very pleased that the Empire Zones program continues to play a vital role in the economic health of Genesee County and the Batavia Micropolitan community," Lockwood said.