Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
Jason Verrette assembles a UTV at Xtreme Green Products in North Las Vegas on Tuesday, June 19, 2012.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012 | 2 a.m.
The Nevada Commission on Economic Development on Tuesday closed out more than two decades of delivering economic incentive packages to expanding and relocating companies, approving a small tax abatement and deferral request to a North Las Vegas success story.
When Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki banged the gavel at the close of a meeting that took less than 45 minutes, it marked the end of the commission's run.
Beginning next month, the Governor's Board of Economic Development will review incentive packages and have broader discretion but a tighter rein over how Nevada recruits companies to the state.
The 11-member board, formed last year, will have a $10 million catalyst fund at its disposal and greater oversight of 10 regional development authorities, including the newly minted Las Vegas Regional Economic Development Council.
The Board of Economic Development, chaired by Gov. Brian Sandoval with Krolicki and Secretary of State Ross Miller among its members, has been meeting over the past year to prepare to take the baton from the commission.
The board has a broader sphere of representation with higher education in Chancellor Dan Klaich and the director of Nevada's Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, Frank Woodbeck, on the panel.
The handoff from the commission to the board was the primary theme of Tuesday's meeting, where Xtreme Green Products Inc. won $83,592 in tax abatements and $16,338 in deferrals in a unanimous vote.
The 5-year-old company has a 34,000-square-foot assembly and production facility and has developed five electric vehicle models — motorcycles, scooters, all-terrain and utility-terrain vehicles, and three-wheeled security vehicles.
Ken Sprenkle, Xtreme Green's chief financial officer, said the company is investing nearly $817,000 over the next two years, creating 15 new jobs, and will export vehicles to Canada and Europe by the end of the year.
The company already has sold products to Clark County, the Southern Nevada Water District, McCarran International Airport and several security companies. The company also distributes vehicles on the East and West coasts, in the South, and in Mexico and Puerto Rico.
The company has found a growth market in university campuses and is looking to expand with sales to mining companies.
"They've found a wonderful niche," Krolicki said. "It's one of those very sweet companies that exports from Nevada. In our last meeting, it's satisfying to be considering incentives for an expansion because this is a company that's one of our own."
Xtreme Green satisfied the statutory requirement for incentives with its job creation and capital investment but fell short of meeting the state's average wage requirement, offering an average of $15 an hour. But a company that meets two of the three requirements is eligible for incentives.
The company will have its sales tax abated to 2 percent for a year, worth an estimated $49,832; its modified business tax abated for four years, worth an estimated $4,575; and personal property tax abated for 10 years, worth an estimated $29,185.
The company also will have $16,338 of its sales tax payments deferred.
State analysts say the expanded company will provide an estimated $337,093 in new tax revenue over 10 years and produce an economic impact of $31 million to the state over that period. That results in the state receiving an estimated $370 for each dollar abated over 10 years.
What's that I hear?
Did someone say something about government picking winners and losers?