Businesses that choose to locate or expand in Manatee County are scheduled to receive $1,075,155 in incentives over the next five years as a result of Manatee County’s popular Economic Development Incentive Grant. Since rolling out the grant in 2009, Manatee County Commissioners have awarded the grants that will go to create or retain 1,138 jobs in Manatee County.

So, how do companies cash in on the EDI grant? First, a company must show that it will be adding new jobs that pay 115 percent of the average Manatee County annual wage which was $38,619 in 2009. Manatee County will pay $1,000 for each high-paying job a company creates. It doesn’t have to be a one-time grant, either. If companies expand incrementally over the years, all a company will have to do is reapply for the grant for each new batch of jobs created.

The grant provides an array of incentives that can be customized for businesses to promote high value job creation and capital investment. It’s just one of the many business-friendly measures the County Commission has taken in recent years to jumpstart the local economy.

Manatee’s Economic Development Manager assists through the process. Along the way she may be able to alert companies to other local, state or federal incentives to help businesses grow. Karen is a shining example of Manatee County’s business-friendly and customer service-oriented way of doing business.

For more information about the Economic Development Incentive Grant or about any of Manatee County’s many business-friendly incentives, contact Economic Development Manager Karen Stewart at (941) 749-3029, ext. 6832 or email karen.stewart@mymanatee.org.