By Joan F. Simoneau, Community Reporter
Marlborough – The Marlborough City Council unanimously approved a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) plan with TJX at the council's March 26 meeting. TJX and local officials have been working on the TIF as part of TJX's desire to purchase buildings at 300 and 400 Puritan Way from Fidelity Investments.
The application and proposed TIF Agreement will next be reviewed by a committee composed of the City Assessor, City Planner and a member of the City Council.
Local approval of the agreement will allow TJX to pursue state tax incentives authorized under the Mass. Economic Development Incentive Program (EDIP). The EDIPs combined state and local tax incentives are expected to partially offset the state's generally higher business costs, according to a letter from Jeffrey Naylor Sr., an executive vice president with TJX. Certain standards are required in a TIF agreement, such as agreeing to retain a number of jobs at the new location, creating new ones and filing a report each year with the state.
TJX anticipates that it will re-locate 1,600 full-time employees and will create 75 new full-time positions over the first five years of the TIF agreement at the Marlborough location. The move is expected to occur in late summer or early fall of 2013, according to Sherry Lange, senior vice president of global communications for TJX.
In other business, the council also approved a request from Mayor Arthur Vigeant for a transfer of $15,000 to fund a new initiative – A Youth Employment Program and Public Service Internship Program for the city. In a communication to the council, Vigeant said, “The Youth Employment Program is a joint venture of my office, District Attorney Gerald Leone's office and Partnerships for a Skilled Workforce, which serves as the regional Workforce Investment Board for our area. This program is tailored towards students from families whose household income does not exceed our median area family income of $64,509.
“An added unique feature of the Youth Employment Program is that it will also be a public-private partnership involving Marlborough businesses,” he said. “The Public Service Internship Program is designed for area college students who have demonstrated an interest in public service and related career fields.”
Vigeant recently participated in a summit meeting focusing on the current youth employment crisis, where those attending emphasized that youth employment is at all-time low but there are positive solutions available. He announced his plan for the municipal summer work program at that event.