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City of Quitman

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Doing Business In Brooks County

Location - Advantages - Tax Incentives - Utilities - Transportation - Environmental Permitting - Local Governments - Taxes - Financial Institutions - Public Education - Workforce - Civilian Labor Force - Directory of Services

A Guide to Business Development prepared by the Brooks County Development Authority Office
220 East Screven Street
Quitman, GA 31643
Telephone 229-263-9085
Fax 229-263-4980
Chamber: 229-263-4841
Website: www.quitmangeorgia.org
Email: brookscoda@windstream.net
or chamber@quitmangeorgia.org

The Brooks County Development Authority Office and the Quitman-Brooks County Chamber of Commerce are organized for the purpose of promoting economic development in Quitman and Brooks County, GA. Economic development is defined as industrial, commercial, agricultural, education, civic and cultural development, as well as quality of community life. The Brooks County Development Authority works to assist in recruiting new industries to Quitman and Brooks County and helps existing businesses expand. The Economic Developer serves as the contact person and may be reached at 229-263-9085 or by e-mail at brookscoda@windstream.net

Location:

The City of Quitman (Brooks County) is ideally located 15 miles west of Interstate 75, 25 miles north of Interstate 10 and on US Hwy 84. Brooks County's geographical location is well positioned for markets in the southeast and has direct access to Georgia's ports for international trade. Find us at http://www.mapquest.com/.

Advantages:

The Quitman-Brooks Economic Development Office will, upon request, coordinate assistance provided by the local Georgia Department of Labor office, Valdosta Technical College and Valdosta State University in order to provide the company maximum utilization of all available labor recruitment and training programs.
The Georgia Quick-Start Training program is available through Valdosta Technical College at no cost. The local Georgia Department of Labor office will also assist in recruiting, interviewing and screening prospective employees for your company.
In the last 5 years, Brooks County has resurfaced over 200 miles of road, indicating its commitment to progress.
There is no organized/union labor in Brooks County. Brooks County has strongly supported a union-free work environment in the past.
According to the Georgia Department of Labor, manufacturing employers in the Brooks County labor area presently have an average hourly entry wage rate of approximately $8.50 to $10.50/hour.
The new 250-acre Brooks County Industrial Park, with rail service, is located one mile from US Highway 84, 15 miles west of Interstate 75 (north-south) and 25 miles north of Interstate 10 (east-west). The industrial park has a fire protection Class 6 rating and is protected by the Quitman Police and Fire Departments.
Alltel T1, Point-to-Point T1, Data and Voice T1, DSL, Centrex, Management Bandwidth and Long Distance services are available.
The City of Quitman has wireless DSL Internet service available.

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Tax Incentives:

Business Inventory Tax Exemption: Both Quitman and Brooks County offer a 100% Freeport tax exemption on the following classes of personal property: 1) Manufacturers' raw materials and goods-in-process inventory; 2) Manufacturers' finished goods held by the original manufacturer; 3) Warehouse, distribution, or manufacturing firms with finished goods destined to be shipped outside Georgia.

State sales tax exemption on certain classes of manufacturing equipment and for equipment used for controlling air and water pollution. Exemption for 4% state sales tax and up to 3% local sales tax authorized for eligible machinery - 7% total possible sales tax exemption on eligible manufacturing and/or pollution control equipment.
The Jobs Tax Credit provision allows for a statewide job tax credit of $3,500 for any business or headquarters of any such business engaged in manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, processing, telecommunications, tourism, or research and development industries, but does not include retail businesses. The company is entitled to the tax credit provided it hires 5 or more full time employees. An extra bonus credit of $500 per job tax credit is available because Brooks County is a member of a Joint Development Authority.
Education Tax Credit: The company is also eligible for a $150 corporate income tax credit for each employee successfully completing an approved employer-provided basic skills education program. Firms providing retraining for employees may receive a tax credit of 50 percent of their costs, up to $500 per participant, to a maximum of 50 percent of state income tax liability.
Employer Incentive Program (EIP): Low interest loans are available to qualified recipients through the city or county governments.
Local Revolving Loan Funds (RLF): Both the City of Quitman and Brooks County Boards of Commissioners administer revolving loan funds that have been capitalized by CDBG projects previously approved by the State of Georgia.
OneGeorgia Authority: Funding may be available through grants and low interest loans to qualified recipients.
Based on number of jobs created, capital investment and through negotiation, the Brooks County Development Authority can individualize an incentive package for each prospect.
The City of Quitman Board of Commissioners, Brooks County Board of Commissioners and Brooks County Development Authority will pursue grants or low interest loans to assist with infrastructure and building needs.
The BCDA will work with the regional Department of Labor in recruiting employees.
Other state and local incentives may be available.

Utilities:

Electricity: The City of Quitman is member of the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG). Brooks County electricity is supplied by Colquitt Electrical Membership Corporation (EMC) and Georgia Power.
Water: Plant capacity - 3,400,000 gal/day; 1,500,000 gal/day maximum; Elevated storage capacity - 650,000 gal.; source - 3 deep wells; pumping capacity - 16,000 gal/min.
Sewage: Plant capacity - 1,000,000 gal/day; Plant load - 800,000 gal/day average; Primary, secondary treatment plant; oxidation pond.
Natural Gas: Available in industrial quantities of both a firm and an interruptible basis.

Transportation:

Rail: CSX piggyback service at Cordele (100 miles); CSX rail service at Quitman; Norfolk Southern rail service at Quitman
Air - Commercial: Valdosta Regional (26 miles) service by Atlantic Southeast; Jacksonville International (120 miles)Public - Quitman with a 3,600 foot bituminous runwayMotor
Freight: 21 carriers inter/intra-state
Bus: Greyhound bus service daily

Environmental Permitting:

Sensible environmental regulations allow Georgia to maintain both a clean environment and a healthy business climate. The state offers businesses a permitting process that cuts through red tape and saves months during the critical startup period. The Environmental Protection Division (EPD) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources has developed an innovative, one-stop permitting process that can handle all requests for permits required by state and federal environmental-protection legislation. This coordinated permit procedure provides adequate review of environmental considerations without the need for an Environmental Impact Statement. This often saves 12 to 24 months for a prospective business.

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Local Governments:

Brooks County	229-263-5561
Quitman	229-263-4166 (County Seat)
Morven	229-263-2176
Barwick	229-735-2311
Pavo	229-859-2111

Taxes:

Millage Rate: Quitman - 4.53 / County - 29.64
Local Sales Tax: 3%
State Sales Tax: 4%

Financial Institutions:

Ag Georgia Farm Credit (Quitman)	229-263-7551
Ameris Bank (Quitman)	229-263-7525
Barwick Banking Company (Barwick)	229-735-3110
Brooks County Farm Bureau (Quitman)	229-263-4164
Citizens Community Bank (Morven)	229-775-2707
Citizens National Bank (Quitman)	229-263-7575
Colony Bank of Quitman (Quitman)	229-263-7538

Public Education:

Brooks County has a consolidated school system with more than 2,700 students enrolled.

Technical College:		University:
Valdosta Technical College		Valdosta State University
4089 Val Tech Rd.		1500 N. Patterson St.
Valdosta, GA 31603-0928		Valdosta, GA 31698
229-333-2100		800-618-1878

Brooks County Industrial Park:

Total Acreage in Park : 250		Sanitary Sewer : At Site
Total Available Acres : 250		Water Main : At Site
Acres on rail service : 80		Three-Phase Electric Power : Near Site
Largest Tract Available : Negotiable		Distance to 4-lane Highway : 1 mile
Zoning Classification : Industrial		Distance to nearest Railroad : On Site
Fire Protection Available : Yes		Natural Gas : Near Site
Fire Protection Rating Class : 6
Distance to nearest Commercial Airport : 26 Miles
Distance to nearest Navigable Waterway : 80 Miles

Workforce:

Brooks County is part of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area. The workforce for the metro area is regional in scope which provides a large pool of resources from which to recruit. Brooks County has an excellent relationship with Valdosta State University and Valdosta Technical College. Valdosta Technical College can assist your company with free, on-the-job training for your personnel and can provide supervisory training, as well. For more labor information about Brooks County visit: ftp://quicksource.dol.state.ga.us/Current/clabcurrent.pdf

Civilian Labor Force Estimates
GA Department of Labor-Preliminary, October, 2004

Labor Drawing Area	Labor Force	Employed	Unemployed	Unempl. Rate
Berrien County	6,873	6,632	241	4.8
Brooks County	7,911	7,695	216	2.7
Colquitt County	17,972	17,313	659	3.7
Cook County	7,730	7,362	368	3.7
Grady County	9,325	8,930	39	4.2
Lanier County	3,750	3,644	86	2.3
Lowndes County	47,868	46,575	1,293	2.7
Thomas County	23,055	2,219	836	3.6
AREA TOTAL	124,464	20,370	4,094	3.4
(plus North Florida Labor Pool)