TRUMBULL COUNTY Tax abatements approved with promise of jobs

The requests will be presented to county commissioners for consideration at next week's meeting.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Two tax-abatement requests have passed a hurdle in city council and will now be presented to Trumbull County commissioners.
Council unanimously approved Wednesday requests for tax relief from West Corp. and Ohio Valley Aluminum in exchange for promises of bringing in more than 1,000 jobs combined.
West Corp. of Omaha, Neb., requested a 75-percent, 10-year tax abatement on real and personal property taxes. The company has pledged to relocate into the former MCI call center on Youngstown-Warren Road and create 880 full-time jobs in a new customer service center. Several hundred part-time jobs will also be available.
West Corp., a customer service provider with 27,000 employees in the United States, Europe and Asia, announced last week it will begin operations by the end of the month.
Dan Jensen, a corporate project manager with West Corp., informed council members that the company plans to invest between $2 million and $2.5 million to renovate the facility.
He also noted the company is in negotiations with Cingular Wireless for a one-year contract to provide customer service to the cell-phone provider. Those services would be handled out of the local site.
Jensen also assured council the jobs created at the local center would be new and not workers relocated from another part of the country.
"We may bring in about three manager-level employees," he said, but the rest of the work force would come from the local area.
West Corp. has already received state approval for a 75-percent, 10-year tax credit for the company's West Teleservices division. County commissioners are expected to address the local tax-abatement request at their meeting next week.
Other approval
Council also unanimously approved a 75-percent, 10-year tax abatement for Ohio Valley Aluminum. Craig Mackin, a representative of the company, said OVA purchased the former Indalex plant on Carle Street in June.
Mackin said OVA plans to spend about $600,000 to renovate the facility and a total of $1.5 million to $2.6 million in new equipment and inventory.
That will allow the company to hire an additional 66 employees to increase productivity, he said.
The resolution for OVA will also be forwarded to commissioners for consideration at the Oct. 14 meeting.
Mayor Ralph A. Infante welcomed both companies to the area and thanked them for their consideration.
"The taxes and jobs will certainly help the city of Niles," he said.
slshaulis@vindy.com