Portland City Council will mull over Mayor Ethan Strimling’s proposed requirements on construction projects that utilize tax increment financing, but council members say they don’t want to impose the regulations on a proposal already underway.
The Portland-based animal health products manufacturer ImmuCell Corp. (NasdaqCM: ICCC) has a pending $375,000 TIF agreement for a $17.5 million expansion in the city.
According to WCSH-TV6, Strimling is proposing that the contractors of a project using TIF funding meet certain requirements for training and hiring of employees.
The proposed requirements, according to WCSH6 include:
- A project’s contractors must meet or exceed the Department of Labor’s prevailing wages.
- General contractors on the project need to run a federally-certified apprenticeship program.
- A set percentage of work hours must go to Portland residents and to minorities including women, single-parents and those on public assistance.
Portland City Councilor David Brenneman, who negotiated the TIF deal with ImmuCell, said that it’s too late in the process to add these new provisions, according to WCSH.
“It’s unfair to the company and I think down the road it affects the credibility of the city,” Brenneman said, according to WCSH.
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