Commissioners ask for additional assurances from ADP
Last week El Paso’s city council approved an agreement with Automatic Data Processing, ADP, to give them tax breaks to entice the company to bring more jobs to El Paso.
On Monday, El Paso County Commissioners approved a similar deal with one caveat. Commissioners asked that language be put into the agreement that requires ADP hire 96 percent local workers. That’s the current rate of the 1,100 workers that are housed between their two locations now.
According to those close to the deal, ADP is looking to hire an additional 585 workers in El Paso. In order to bring the jobs, they’re looking for what is called a 381 agreement. That’s an economic development agreement between taxing entities and companies to allow for tax breaks. In this case, the tax break would be 50 percent over the course of 10 years.
“This is just icing on the cake,” complained Commissioner Dan Haggerty, telling those in the court that he believed ADP would expand regardless of the agreement.
Right now, 2 percent of ADP’s national workforce is located in El Paso. It owns a main office on Resler in West El Paso, but it houses employees in a 15-story building downtown known as Stanton Towers.
According to a presentation shown to Commissioners on Monday, the plan would be to bring 500-plus workers to El Paso soon. Those employees would be housed in rented space in Stanton Towers. By 2015, the company would begin building a $21 million office space to replace the current building on Resler. At that time, the 10-year agreement would kick in, with the county saving the company an estimated $456,000 in taxes.
ADP has previously had a similar deal with both the city and the county. That deal will expire at the end of this year. The new deal would last through 2024.
