Council approves VISA incentive plan

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The Austin City Council on Thursday unanimously approved granting the credit card company Visa a $1.5 million incentive to establish a new information technology center in Northwest Austin.

 The project is expected to create 800 new jobs with an average salary of over $110,000.  The state has also promised Visa nearly $8 million in incentives.

 Only one person spoke out tonight against the decision.

Last month, the city's Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services office presented a proposal to Austin City Council in a special meeting on Wednesday about incentives and benefits it suggests the city give VISA.

The global company is looking to locate an information technology center in Austin, which would bring nearly 800 jobs to the region.

Council members will conduct a public meeting about the suggested incentives on Dec. 6 before it takes a formal vote that night. Online public comments will be transmitted to City Council on Dec. 3.

Read the presentation documents.

Unde r the deal, Visa must also invest $18.7 million in property improvements, move into a building and open it as its proposed information technology center.

VISA is a 36-year-old payments technology company with headquarters in Foster City, Calif., with 18 locations in the U.S. and 70 in other countries.

In evaluating criteria about VISA, using a standard economic development matrix, the company scored 90 out of 100.

The VISA score was based on five criteria:

• Overall economic and fiscal impact
• Linkages to the local economy
• Infrastructure impact
• Character of jobs and labor force practices
• Quality of life and cultural vitality