The Winchester Board of Commissioners approved a tax break for Walle Corporation that would help the company expand its operation by 23 employees.
The board approved an agreement with Walle during its regular meeting Tuesday. The agreement gives Walle a break on half the occupational tax of the 23 new employees only.
The city’s occupational tax is 2 percent, but Walle will pay just 1 percent for each of the employees hired as part of the expansion. The tax breaks are part of the Kentucky Business Investment Program that was revised as House Bill 3 during the 2009 General Assembly. The program offers state tax breaks for corporations but requires some contribution from the local government, and City Manager Ken Kerns said this is Winchester’s part.
“We charge 2 percent occupational tax and 1 percent will go back to them (Walle) for the next 10 years,” he said. “That’s just for new employees.”
The agreement between the city and Walle also states that those new jobs would pay between $12 and $19 an hour.
Kerns said this agreement and Walle’s decision to expand are part of a current theme for industry in Winchester.
“Things are picking up here,” he said. “Things are looking good for us. Especially with Amazon(.com) coming in and the expansions we’ve been seeing. And there will be more of these. It’s a nice position to be in.”
Joe Piazza, general manager of the Winchester site for Walle, said the expansion plans include an addition to the plant and two or three more machines.
In other business, the board also:
— Approved the first reading fo the 2012 tax assessment, setting the rate at 14.6 cents per $100 on real property and 15.63 cents per $100 on tangible property.
— Approved resolutions asking the General Assembly to recognize Clark County as the birthplace of beer cheese and Ale-8-One as the “official Kentucky original soft drink of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”
— Approved a consideration to consolidate the scheduled meetings for Nov. 6 and Nov. 20 into a single meeting Nov. 13.
— Proclaimed October as National Long-Term Care Resident’s Rights Month.
Contact Casey Castle at ccastle@winchestersun.com.
