Some incentive-driven McAllen business projects create jobs, but some don't - Monitor
Nine companies out of 18 had dormant, pending or closed case files, according to the most recent review of project contracts — dubbed 380 agreements — between 2008 and 2014. Some had signed agreements but others didn’t. A March 2014 audit revealed spotty performance for nearly 75 percent of corporations that signed development agreements between 1999 and 2011. Companies typically are offered $1,000 for each projected job that pays above minimum wage and... Infinity Auto Insurance call center is one company that had inked an agreement in 2008 and now has grown past the number of positions initially planned. The company promised it would create 250 jobs that paid at least $12 per hour when it inked its agreement. In its second year, however, the company’s McAllen location had only grown to 36 employees — not the 75 expected. However, when the economic development corporation reached out about its operations in June, the insurance call center boasted 365 employees — 100 more than planned. Manufacturing sector jobs typically had stronger job creation figures and retention. Another company, the Vernus Group of North America — a subsidiary of a Puerto Rican firm — was paid an advance of $50,000 in 2014 for a project slated to bring 250 jobs that pay. Source: www.themonitor.com
