Merrick & Company Ordeal

The engineering/architecture company Merrick & Company would like to relocate their headquarters to Greenwood Village from Aurora. The employee–owned $125 million company has asked the City to offer a 50% rebate of the occupational privilege tax (OPT) for the first six months of their relocation. The OPT requires businesses to pay $4 every month per every employee; what this means for Merrick & Company is that instead of paying the standard $4, they would just pay $2 each month per employee. They will bring around 300 full time employees with them to the City; their expansion plans include an additional 75 full time employees within the next five years. This means that the rebate will cost the City $3,600. Though the relocation of the company will bring 300 jobs to the City, there are some concerns, as addressed by Councilmember Todd.

A major concern is that if the City levies the OPT for this one company, then other companies interested in setting up shop in the City will also ask for the same incentive. This might be problematic  if the OPT was levied for Merrick & Company and the City does not do the same if asked by another business. $3,600 is not substantial loss of revenue for the City and overtime, it will appear minuscule. However, if the City grants this rebate to five other companies, it could be a considerable  loss to the City. Then again, you can’t make a rule that applies to all with an exception of one. I would like to know why a multi-million dollar company is asking for such a rebate that will probably make little or no difference to their annual revenue. The only way to truly know the reason behind this request is to ask. Though the motion was passed, I feel that further explanation is necessary by Merrick & Company.