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After Jabil pact, public may get look at tax break deals

By Stephen Nohlgren, Times Staff Writer
In print: Wednesday, July 16, 2008

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ST. PETERSBURG — In the wake of a multimillion-dollar deal for Jabil Circuit, Mayor Rick Baker said Tuesday he is now open to more public scrutiny when private companies come asking for tax breaks.

Jabil, a Fortune 500 company, could receive about $21.5-million in state, county and city tax incentives and grants if it stays in St. Petersburg, builds a new headquarters and creates hundreds of jobs.

The City Council approved its $1.55-million share of the deal on June 19 with little public notice and no public discussion.

That's because Baker's economic development staff briefed council members in advance, then placed the deal into the council's "consent agenda," where routine matters are typically approved en masse.

Keeping such projects under wraps was standard procedure going back 10 years, "maybe in an overly cautious way," economic development director David Goodwin said Tuesday.

State law requires many aspects of tax-break negotiations to remain confidential, keeping relocation and staffing plans out of competitors' hands.

The council typically passes two or three such deals a year without public discussion, Goodwin said, "to preserve the integrity of the company and to make sure we are following state law."

In fact, on the same day the city approved the Jabil deal, it also moved to pledge land worth $2-million for a company to build a research and development facility in the city.

But no tax package ever approached Jabil's in size, or created such a stir.

To this day, city staffers refer to the deal as "Project Extreme," saying state law forbids them to mention the company by name — even though Jabil representatives have confirmed its role.

When Pinellas County commissioners approved their $1.75-million share, their agenda item did not name the company but listed details like how many jobs the company would create.

That allowed public debate.

Learning this, Karl Nurse, the city's newest council member, called for a workshop to discuss whether St. Petersburg citizens should get similar information.

On Friday, council Chairman Jamie Bennett agreed, scheduling an August workshop on "what extent the city's approval process can be more open for public scrutiny."

In a memo, Baker said his staff will investigate how other cities and counties handle tax breaks negotiations and approvals.

Baker said he is open to a more complete discussion of the details of deals, at least as allowed by state law.

"That would be a good thing," he said. "I don't have a problem at all with that."

City clerk Eva Andujar said her staff also will change its procedures about posting last-minute council agenda items on the city's Web site.

In the past, the clerk's office updated the council agenda on the Friday before the council's Thursday meeting. If city staffers added agenda items and backup material after Friday, the public could inspect them in the clerk's office, but not via the Internet.

"This is a process we have followed for years," Andujar said. "We need a cutoff date to update stuff. Depending on the size of the agenda, it can take 30 to 40 minutes, and if the computer hiccups, we've got to start all over again."

The economic development office added the "Project Extreme" item to the agenda June 16, too late for the last Web site update, Andujar said.

That contributed to a public sense that city staffers handled the Jabil deal on the QT.

Details of the deal were not wrapped up until that Monday, Goodwin said.

In the future, last-minute agenda additions will be posted on the Web as they come in, Andujar said, "so hopefully this doesn't occur again."

The full Jabil package includes about $21.5-million in tax breaks and grants, mostly paid by the state.

The city will make about $11-million in road improvements to Gandy Boulevard. Because of the Jabil deal, the state will kick in another $2-million.

To collect, Jabil must build a $50-million headquarters building and add almost 900 jobs to its current workforce of about 1,900.

New tax revenue from this expansion will cover city and county costs, city officials say.

"My objective is to get jobs for the community," Baker said, "and to make sure the council is fully informed on what we are doing."