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![3D"Texas](3D"http://www.texasahead.org/texasrising/tr0901/images/masthead.jpg")
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In This Issue
- From=20 Comptroller Susan Combs
Small Cities, Big Business
TEXpansion: Caterpillar inches toward Seguin
Tyler partnership seeks cleaner air =
Oil town diversifies economy, adds jobs
Partnering for Impact: Funding options for=20 cash-strapped local governments![3D""](3D"http://www.texasahead.org/texasrising/tr0901/images/back-nav.jpg")
Texas economy surpasses = nation=E2=80=99s
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Web Exclusive
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Local Government
Tools that Made
the Difference:
Denison
![3D""=20](3D"http://www.texasahead.org/texasrising/tr0901/images/denison-map.gi=)
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Seeing the community=E2=80=99s need for a conference center and = hotel, Denison=20 Development Alliance (DDA) officials built a public-private partnership = with=20 Second Century Investments and Gateway Hospitality Group to bring in a=20 conference center with 17,500 square feet of meeting space.
=E2=80=9CWe realized that we, as a community, couldn=E2=80=99t afford = to build a hotel and=20 conference center ourselves,=E2=80=9D says Scott Smathers, vice = president for business=20 development for the DDA.=20 The DDA worked = with city=20 officials to offer the following incentives:
- the DDA = will grant=20 up to $1 million for site improvements and infrastructure and an = additional=20 $200,000 for marketing over 5 years.=20
- city officials approved a five-year, 50 percent property tax = abatement and=20 a 100 percent hotel tax rebate for the conference center=E2=80=99s = first five years of=20 operation; and=20
- the two groups worked together to secure the hotel/conference = center=20 location next to the new Texoma Medical Center.
Small Cities, Big Business
Sherman-Denison=E2=80=99s work force, abundant = utilities attract=20 industry giants.
Editor=E2=80=99s Note: The =
following article=20
appeared in the
Household names such as Tyson Fresh Meats, Folgers and = Sunny=20 Delight are staples in Sherman-Denison=E2=80=99s economy.
Boasting aggressive tax incentives, a well-educated work force and an = abundance of utilities, these relatively small cities =E2=80=93 located = just north of=20 Dallas-Fort Worth and with a combined population of about 60,000 = =E2=80=93 continue to=20 be a choice location for industry giants.
While 2008=E2=80=99s economic climate may have been tough for much of = the nation, it=20 brought 466 full-time jobs and $337 million in new projects to = Sherman.
=E2=80=9CThis commitment is the largest expansion of new capital = improvements in=20 Sherman=E2=80=99s history,=E2=80=9D says John Boswell, Sherman Economic = Development Corp.=20 (SEDCO) president. =E2=80=9CThe expanded tax base will allow all taxing = entities to=20 continue to provide the types of government services that the citizens = in our=20 area have come to expect without raising tax rates.=E2=80=9D
Dallas-based Panda Energy selected Sherman as a site for its =
500-megawatt=20
power plant, which is expected to bring more than $248 million into the =
economy=20
during the next decade. Another company, Capio Partners LLC, has said it =
will=20
bring 168 jobs to its new Sherman call center.
Sherman=E2=80=99s economic development officials also negotiated = incentives with four=20 existing companies that created 298 full-time jobs and $37 million in = new=20 capital investment to the property tax base.
![3D"New](3D"http://www.texasahead.org/texasrising/tr0901/images/medicalCenter.=)
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In addition to incentives, Sherman officials tout another = advantage.
=E2=80=9CWe have an abundance of surface water here,=E2=80=9D says = Robby Hefton, Sherman=E2=80=99s=20 assistant city manager.
As competition increases for recruiting businesses, providing a = plentiful=20 supply of water and electricity gives Sherman an edge, Hefton says.
The Denison City Council and Denison Development Alliance, meanwhile, = created=20 a public-private partnership with Second Century Investments and Gateway = Hospitality Group to build a 150-room hotel and 17,500-square-foot = conference=20 center. The hotel and conference center, which will receive about $2.73 = million=20 in property tax abatements and hotel tax rebates, are expected to create = 50 new=20 jobs and boost the city=E2=80=99s growing tourism industry. Other = projects on the=20 horizon include the new Texoma Medical Center, which will create = 4,000-5,000=20 jobs when it opens in 2010.
The key to Sherman=E2=80=99s transformation from college town to a = center of industry=20 began decades ago, when city leaders made the deliberate decision to = grow=20 business. Home to five colleges, the city already had an educated work = force,=20 which helped it attract Johnson & Johnson in 1961. For more than 40 = years,=20 the company provided an industry anchor for the city to build on. Five = years=20 after Johnson & Johnson arrived, Texas Instruments established = operations=20 there and still operates today with 750 employees.
SEDCO =
leaders=20
believe education is the foundation for economic growth. In 2003, they =
approved=20
an agreement with Grayson County College for the development of the =
Center for=20
Workplace Learning (CWL). The
South Dakota-based Tyson Fresh Meats, a subsidiary of Tyson Foods = Inc., began=20 operations in Sherman in 2006. The company employs about 1,200 people = and spent=20 $100 million to renovate the former Oscar Mayer facility, which closed = in=20 1998.
Tyson officials say the state=E2=80=99s strong business climate put = Texas in the=20 running for its largest production plant specializing in prepackaged = meats. The=20 $7 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund and $3 million in support from = SEDCO = clinched the=20 deal. TR
| Fiscal Year | Investment Dollars |
|---|---|
| 1996-1997 | $6,700,000 |
| 1997-1998 | $24,135,000 |
| 1998-1999 | $67,034,000 |
| 1999-2000 | $40,800,000 |
| 2000-2001 | $15,500,000 |
| 2001-2002 | $1,863,000 |
| 2002-2003 | $75,490,000 |
| 2003-2004 | $28,523,000 |
| 2004-2005 | $85,219,000 |
| 2005-2006 | $17,520,000 |
| 2006-2007 | $111,000 |
| 2007-2008 | $337,016,600 |
![](3D"http://www.texasahead.org/texasrising/tr0901/images/sherman.png"=20)
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For a listing of = tax=20 programs and incentives communities can use to support development = visit the=20 Comptroller=E2=80=99s Texas Ahead portal at=20 www.texasahead.org/tax_programs/.