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Dell to refund money early
Under deal, company gets discount of $66,000 from $26.5 million in incentives
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October 23, 2009
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Published: November 3, 2009
Updated: 11/03/2009 10:15 am
Dell Inc. has made its early payback of local incentives, city of Winston-Salem officials said today.
Lee Garrity, the city manager, said that Dell made a wire transfer for the entire $26.5 million last night. He said that the amount excludes the small discount of $66,277 that Dell got for paying the money back early.
Dell repaid about $15.5 million to the city, about $7.9 million to Forsyth County, about $2.8 million to the Millennium Fund and about $308,000 to Forsyth County Development Corp.
Because of the discount, Dell kept about $39,000 of the city's money and $20,000 of the county money. Dell also kept $7,000 of the Millennium Fund payment and about $800 of the amount owed to Forsyth County Development Corp. All the groups worked together to bring Dell to Forsyth County in 2004.
In October, Dell announced it would close its computer-assembly plant here in January and eliminate about 900 jobs, including about 600 by mid-November. The company said at that time it would pay back the incentives it received to move here, but was not required to do so until the plant closed.
Allen Joines, the mayor of Winston-Salem, said he does not think that the discount offer was a key part of Dell's decision to pay the money back early.
"They want to get the thing cleared up and paid off," Joines said.
Joines said that the discount amounts won't really short the city or others any money because they have longer to invest the incentives by getting them back early.
"We will easily earn that money during that period," Joines said, referring to the discount. "I felt like if we could get the payment now it would eliminate any concerns. In the long run it will be more money than if we had waited until February."
County Manager Dudley Watts said that county commissioners may have to act to approve the county's discounted repayment. He said that county financial officials also want to make sure that the early repayment makes sense.
wyoung@wsjournal.com
727-7369
Journal reporter Richard Craver contributed to this story.
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