2015 Annual Report
The architect’s rendering of the Regional Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Workforce Training. Renovation of the former Gala Center should begin in March. The increased space will enable more students to be admitted into these high-demand programs. The Center will also support the implementation of new, innovative programs such as tooling and die casting, and stick and tungsten inert gas welding, along with new apprenticeship programs in machining and industrial maintenance.
Missouri Tax Credits The ECC Foundation was notified in November that they had been approved to receive up to $600,000 in tax credits from the Missouri Development Finance Board to assist with fundraising efforts to create the Regional Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Workforce Training. The state program will facilitate private contributions to offset the cost to renovate the building. The tax credits are available to individuals, corporations and funders that contribute to the ECC Foundation campaign. Any taxpayer is entitled to the tax credit. Contributors will receive a 50 percent Infrastructure Development Fund Tax Credit based upon their contribution. A $20,000 contribution would result in a $10,000 tax credit which could be used by the contributor to pay certain taxes due to the State of Missouri.
Bauer noted that it is somewhat unusual for colleges and universities to be involved with the tax credit program, but the programs that will be housed in the facility are important to the local economy. “ECC’s taxing district is comprised of 10 local school districts,” said Bauer. “However, the college’s broader service region includes all or part of nine counties, including Crawford, Dent, Franklin, Gasconade, Maries, Phelps, St. Charles, Warren and Washington. Our service region has a high concentration of manufacturers that continually need a skilled workforce. Manufacturing is the second largest economic sector in the service region, comprising 17.4 percent of the workforce.”
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