One year after issuing a pair of court orders to enable the development of an Enhanced Enterprise Zone in the county, the Callaway County Commission has voted to rescind those mandates.
The commission took action on the orders Oct. 22 after months of waiting for a new zone map based on recent census data.
"The Department of Economic Development was supposed to redraw that based on the census in 2012, and we were waiting to see the new map before deciding (whether to move forward with creating the EEZ)," Western District Commissioner Doc Kritzer said. "We got tired of waiting on it, and decided to take action."
Kritzer said the first court order would have created the EEZ in Callaway, while the second would have allowed for the creation of the EEZ Board. Both orders initially were issued Oct. 23, 2012.
With so much time having passed without any action being taken, Presiding Commissioner Gary Jungermann said the county's governing body simply wanted to resolve the issue.
"For us it was something hanging out there in limbo without any follow-up," Jungermann said. "We decided we wanted to try to clean that loose end up before 2014."
An EEZ designation allows local governments to provide economic incentives - including state income tax credits and abatement of 50 percent of local property taxes for 10 years - if new businesses create jobs, or existing businesses expand, in the designated zone.
To be eligible for tax credits, companies must create at least two jobs providing health insurance and invest at least $100,000 in new buildings or equipment at a new business, or $1 million into replacement equipment or real estate at existing businesses.
Although the delay in creation of the new zone map played a role in the commission's recent decision, Kritzer said resistance from constituents was also taken into account.
"I know a lot of residents are not in favor of it, and we didn't see that it's that beneficial," Kritzer said. "We just didn't see it going anywhere."
Noting that it would not be a big deal to restart the process of designating an EEZ within the county, Jungermann said there is always the possiblity the idea will be proposed again.
"I'm sure FADC (the Fulton Area Development Corporation), along with the Missouri Department of Economic Development, will at some point approach us with it, and we'll address that as it comes along," he said.
Melissa Siegel with the FADC acknowledged the organization has not yet given up hope of having an EEZ as a tool to attract new business to Callaway.
According to Siegel, FADC requested the new map with the question of what - if any - areas inside Fulton qualify for the designation. She said that request was fueled by a desire to eliminate areas where constituents were against it and, and to focus on areas they do want to develop.