Cobb Tries to Lure Dell Facility

By Craig Schneider, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Jan. 11–Cobb County officials are offering about $3 million in tax breaks to entice Dell Inc. to build a 1,500-employee customer service facility in the county.

County officials, as well as the state economic development agency, have been courting the computer giant since last fall, offering Dell incentives on multiple scenarios for development. Officials said they were told to expect an answer by the end of January.

Commission Chairman Sam Olens, who has been corresponding with the world’s second-largest producer of personal computers, said, “They’ve been offered the full package. … We gave them the best offer we could.”

The state typically joins county and local governments in putting together incentive packages to lure companies. The state Department of Economic Development would not comment on any effort to attract Dell.

Dell would become about the 15th-largest employer in the county, which is known primarily as a bedroom community but which has headquarters and major facilities for Home Depot, Federal Express and General Electric.

Dell spokesman David Frink declined to comment, saying only that “Dell evaluates locations worldwide for potential future growth.”

Officials said they understand the company is also considering North Carolina for the center.

Olens, in a Nov. 3 letter to Dell director of global site selection Tom Menke, said, “We are excited about your company considering Cobb County as the location for your corporate facility.”

Olens said the county would provide a $2.9 million tax abatement over 10 years should Dell build its own facility. He said the county would assist the company in negotiating a lease in available space while the new campus is built.

If the company chooses to rent a building, the Cobb Development Authority would help broker a lease with the owner to provide equal savings through the firm’s lease rates, he said.

Should Dell buy an existing building, the county would provide a real property abatement of $1.3 million. An additional $490,000 tax abatement would be made over 10 years on the personal property at the site, such as furniture, fixtures and equipment.

Dell is spending $150 million this year to improve customer service in a program called “Resolve in One,” Frink said. That will include adding additional customer service staff to help reduce the wait time for help over the phone, he said.

Cobb is also willing to spend up to $100,000 to help relocate key executives and management, and hold a two-day job fair to find employees, Olens said in the letter.

“We stand ready to assist you in any way that we can to make your location decision and subsequent business operations in Cobb County as efficient and productive as possible,” Olens wrote.

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