State officials OK InfoCision tax deal

In Boardman, two separate call centers will be relocated to one facility.
By MARC KOVAC
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- State officials approved several tax breaks for a call center operation with a growing presence in the Youngstown area.
The Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved five-year, 35 percent tax credits for InfoCision Management Corp., which has committed to investing millions of dollars and creating hundreds of jobs at offices in Austintown and Boardman, as well as others in Gallipolis and Green.
InfoCision operates 27 call centers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It employs about 3,400 people and provides call-support services, ranging from fundraising for nonprofits to customer inquiries for private firms.
In Austintown, the company plans to expand a 23,710-square-foot facility by 1,290 square feet and construct another building with 6,500 square feet of additional space, said Megan Gordon, a business representative at the Ohio Department of Development, who presented the company's request to the tax credit board Monday.
It will invest 4 million in the project, including 2.5 million for the building and renovations and 1.5 million for furniture and fixtures. It plans to create about 80 full-time jobs and retain about 395.
What this means
The tax credit will save the company about 82,000, said Melissa Ament, a spokeswoman for the state development department.
In Boardman, the company will relocate two separate call centers into a single larger facility, with plans to invest about 1.5 million in furniture and fixtures.
It will create 73 full-time positions and retain about 135 others. The tax credit will save the company about 75,000, Ament said.
In Gallia and Summit counties, the company will invest more than 1.5 million, create a combined 122 positions and retain about 330. The tax credits will save the company about 159,000 combined, Ament said.
All of the positions have an average wage rate of 10.88 per hour, and 10 percent of new hires must be from minority groups or those considered economically disadvantaged.
Steve Brubaker, InfoCision senior vice president of corporate affairs, told OTCA members the company was growing in spite of national "Do Not Call" requirements that have thwarted telemarketing activities.
"We have been growing quite rapidly over the past few years," he said.
Gordon said other states, including West Virginia, had courted the company for the expansion projects.