Stereo Advantage gets tax breaks for store/repair center expansion

The Advantage Co. is getting nearly $218,000 in tax breaks from the Amherst Industrial Development Agency for a $1.1 million project to expand its headquarters and distribution facility at 1955 Wehrle Drive.

The agency approved the tax breaks Friday for a project that will involve the construction of a 20,000-square-foot addition to its existing store and electronics repair and distribution facility to accommodate growth in its Lifetime Service center. The center, now spanning 67,000 square feet, does warranty repairs for electronics manufacturers, as well as extended warranty repairs for third-party providers.

IDA officials said the project will help the Amherst facility remain financially competitive and help the company compete nationally for repair contracts from retailers and electronics companies.
Read more in the Buffalo News


The company, which employs 130 people at the Wehrle Drive facility, expects to create 35 full-time and 10 part-time jobs within two years of the expansion’s completion. Those jobs are expected to pay an average of $45,000 a year, IDA officials said.

“We want to be done by the fall,” Kreuz said. “We hope to break ground in the spring.”

While the tax incentives will lower The Advantage Co.’s overall tax bill over the next seven years, the company still will end up paying nearly $162,500 in additional taxes than it would had the project not been carried out, IDA officials said.
Let us say they don't create those jobs. What happens? Does the Amherst IDA still get their cut? They are definitely not shy when it comes to lining their pockets.

On a deal like this what is their cut? If I was the supervisor of our town and we had an IDA I'd like to know who's best interest was taken into consideration. The current property/business owners or the IDA's pockets.


http://www.amherstida.com/

We Exist
To promote investment, economic diversity, employment opportunities and to broaden the tax base of the Town of Amherst.

In Order To
Reduce the tax burden on homeowners, while helping to maintain and enhance a high quality living environment.
So since they have existed how much has the homeowners tax burden decreased?

Have the homeowners of Amherst seen a steady decrease on their property taxes year after year?

I just peeked. I don't think they even use a local hosting company for their website. I think they use a company out of NJ. There isn't a hosting company in Amherst NY they could work with?