Cameron economic development incentive packages are determined by type of business; quality of jobs created or retained; wages paid; capital investment; and overall community impact. County and State incentives may also be available. The Cameron Economic development team, inclusive of City leadership is ready to work with you to identify the incentives available for your potential Cameron locations.
The Cameron Economic Development team is comprised of the Cameron Industrial Foundation; the Cameron Economic Development Corporation; the Economic Development Director; as well as the City of Cameron.
The Cameron Industrial Foundation (CIF) is a non–profit organization. This organization works with new and expanding businesses interested in establishing or growing their presence in Cameron.
The Cameron Economic Development Corporation (CEDC) is a public entity established under the authority of the City of Cameron to administer an economic development sales tax known as a “Type B” sales tax.
The Economic Development Executive Director is your primary point of contact. The director will work with you to understand the needs of your business for a new or expanding location and be available to guide your project through to completion.
The City of Cameron is an active and essential partner in business attraction and retention
As a team we work to address the needs of your project in Cameron, Texas.
In 2015, the EDC prioritized four strategic industry clusters:
Eligible Projects:
Projects eligible for funding include industrial development projects, such as business infrastructure, manufacturing, research and development, and job training classes. Emphasis is placed on business creating or retaining primary jobs. The term primary job refers to a job that is available at a company for which a majority of the products or services of that company are ultimately exported to regional, statewide, national or international markets infusing new dollars into the local economy; and is included in one of the following North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) sector codes, as defined in the Development Corporation Act of 1979, as amended.
Qualified NAICS sectors by Number | |
NAICS Sector Number | Description |
11 | Agriculture |
211–213, 221 | Mining and Utilities |
331–330 | Manufacturing |
42 | Wholesale Trade |
48–49 | Transportation and Warehousing |
51 | Information (excluding 512131 and 512123) |
523–525 | Securities, Commodity Contracts, and other Financial Investments and Related Activities; Insurance Carriers and Related Activities; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles |
5413–5419 | Scientific Research and Development Services (excluding 5414 and 5418) |
551 | Management of Companies and Enterprises |
56142 | Telephone Call Centers |
922140 | Correctional Institutions |
928110 | National Security |
Section 2(11) of the Development Corporation Act of 1979, Article 5190.6 defines the scope of permissible projects for a Type B Corporation as land, buildings, equipment, facilities, expenditures, targeted infrastructure and improvements (one or more) that are for the creation or retention of primary jobs that are found by the board of directors to be required or suitable for any of the following projects:
A Type B Corporation may also provide land, buildings, equipment, facilities and improvements found by the board of directors to promote or develop new or expanded business enterprises that create or retain primary jobs, including a project to provide:
The Cameron Economic Development Corporation must have a written performance agreement with any business that it funds directly or makes expenditures that benefit an eligible project. A performance agreement is required to contain the following at a minimum:
The CEDC may offer land at the Cameron Business Park at a discount depending on the overall economic impact of the project.
The CEDC may provide grants as outlined in the preceding section titled “Permissible Projects”. Typically all grants are in the form of a forgivable loan up to as much as $1,000 per job created or retained subject to final negotiation.
The Certified Development Company (CDC)/504 Loan program is a long–term financing tool for economic development within a community. The 504 program provides growing businesses with long–term, fixed-rate financing for major fixed assets, such as land and buildings. A certified development company is a non–profit corporation set up to contribute to the economic development of its community. CDCs work with the SBA and private-sector lenders to provide financing to small businesses. Typically, a 504 project includes a loan secured with a first lien from a private–sector lender covering up to 50 percent of the project cost, a loan secured with a junior lien from the CDC covering up to 40 percent of the cost and a contribution of at least 10 percent equity from the small business being helped.
The City of Cameron is largely covered by an Opportunity Zone. Opportunity Zones allow an investor to defer capital gains tax on a qualifying opportunity zone project. The investor benefits of an Opportunity Zone are explained at https://opportunityzones.hud.gov/investors. Entrepreneurial benefits are described at https://opportunityzones.hud.gov/entrepreneurs.
Cameron's Opportunity Zone roughly mirrors the New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) Qualifying zone although the NMTC Zone is more expansive than the Opportunity Zone.
The City of Cameron offers property tax abatement on real or personal property to certain types of businesses based on capital investment and the number of jobs created or retained. Typical city abatement does not exceed 5 years. The abatement schedule is designed to provide the greatest possible value to the project early which in many cases may indicate a shorter term of abatement. The maximum term allowed for abatement on real property and fixed improvements is 10 years as defined by the State of Texas.
All tax abatement applications are subject to City Council approval. Abatements are submitted for City Council approval with the completed incentive recommendations as outlined in “Incentive Application Process and Timeline”. All abatement applications must be approved prior to the start of construction.
Texas PACE Financing
Both the City of Cameron and Milam County authorized the use of Texas PACE Clean Energy Financing for property improvements.
WHAT IS PACE? Property Assessed Clean Energy (TX-PACE) is a proven financial tool that incentivizes Texas’ property owners to upgrade facility infrastructure with little or no capital outlay. Approved by State legislation and established by local governments, TX-PACE programs enable owners to lower their operating costs and use the savings to pay for eligible water conservation, energy efficiency, resiliency, and distributed generation projects. Owners gain access to private, affordable, long-term (typically 10-20 years) financing that is not available through traditional funding avenues.
For more details visit www.texaspaceauthority.org or contact the Cameron Economic Development Office.
The Cameron Economic Development team will coordinate with Milam County and the business to facilitate the tax abatement process between the business and County. Any tax abatement incentives are at the sole discretion of the Milam County Commissioners Court and subject to the terms and conditions set forth by Milam County.
The Enterprise Zone Program is an economic development tool for local communities to partner with the State of Texas to promote job creation and capital investment in economically distressed areas of the state. Local communities must nominate a company as an Enterprise Project to be eligible to participate in the program. Legislation limits allocation to the state and local communities per biennium. The state accepts applications quarterly with deadlines on the first working day of March, June, September, and December. Designated projects are eligible to apply for state sales and use tax refunds on qualified expenditures. The level and amount of refunding are related to the capital investment and jobs created or retained at the qualified business.
The Texas Enterprise Fund is managed by the Governor of Texas and is considered to be the State’s “deal-closing” fund when a site in Texas is in contention with a site in another state. The Texas Enterprise Fund can be used for a variety of economic development projects, including infrastructure development, community development, job training programs, and business incentives. Capital investment, job creation, wages generated, the financial strength of the applicant, applicant’s business history, analysis of the relevant business sector, and federal and local government and private-sector financial support of a project are all considered to be significant factors in approving of the Texas Enterprise Fund.
The Texas Product/Business Fund provides asset-backed financing to companies doing business in Texas. Financing is done in the form of direct asset-based loans with competitive lending rates. Loans can be amortized up to the life of the asset.
Benefit
The State of Texas Industrial Revenue Bond Program (IRB) is designed to provide tax-exempt or taxable financing for eligible industrial or manufacturing projects as defined in the Development Corporation Act of 1979. The Act allows cities, counties, and conservation and reclamation districts to form non–profit industrial development corporations (IDCs) or authorities on their behalf. The purpose is to provide bond financing for projects within their jurisdictions.
The IDC issues bonds to finance the capital costs for an industrial or manufacturing business. Generally, the bond debt service is paid by the business under the terms of a lease, sale, or loan agreement. As such, it does not constitute a debt or obligation of the sponsoring governmental unit, the IDC, or the State of Texas.
The Texas Industry Development (TID) Loan Program provides capital to Texas communities at favorable market rates. The main objective of TID is to support projects that will stimulate the creation of jobs. TID loans can be used for a variety of purposes including community infrastructure development. Note: A project will not be eligible for funding under the program if the project is moving existing jobs from one municipality or county in Texas to another municipality or county within the state.
See http://www.texaswideopenforbusiness.com/incentives-financing/financing/tid.php for details regarding the Texas State Financing Programs.
Leased or purchased machinery, equipment, replacement parts, and accessories that have a useful life of more than six months, and that are used or consumed in the manufacturing, processing, fabricating or repairing of tangible personal property for ultimate sale, are exempt from state and local sales and use tax. Texas businesses are exempt from paying state sales and use tax on labor for constructing new facilities. Texas businesses are exempt from paying state sales and use tax on the purchase of machinery exclusively used in processing, packing, or marketing agricultural products by the original producer at a location a operated by the original producer.
Texas companies are exempt from paying state sales and use tax on electricity and natural gas used in manufacturing, processing, or fabricating tangible personal property. The company must complete a “predominate use study” that shows that at least 50% of the electricity or natural gas consumed by the business directly causes a change to a product.
The Skills Development Fund was created to finance customized job training for local businesses, in cooperation with Texas public community and technical colleges. The Fund is administered by the Texas Workforce Commission. Grants are awarded on a competitive basis to help fund companies who partner with community colleges to design custom job training for the company. Cameron and Milam County are in the Temple College service area. Temple College is the lead entity for workforce training grants. They have the ability to coordinate with technical colleges to create, obtain, and administer custom training for a business.
Workforce Solutions of Central Texas with offices in Rockdale is ready and willing to help with local recruitment efforts including pre-employment screening services.
To be eligible to contract for economic development incentives the followings criteria must be met:
If the project meets basic eligibility requirements the following additional factors will be considered to determine the level of incentives.