The Oklahoma Rapid Community Response Program (RCRP) is designed to increase the demand for labor in South Central Oklahoma after the announcement that Michelin would be scaling back its operations in Ardmore. In addition to creating demand for labor, RCRP is designed to assist existing Oklahoma suppliers find alternative customers, the community with planning and marketing, and assist former Michelin employees through an entrepreneurship loan program. Michelin agreed to allow withholding tax for the remaining two years of operations to be captured by the State and earmarked for this incentive program up to $5 million to assist the regional economy. The Oklahoma Department of Commerce will work directly with the Ardmore Development Authority on community issues and will release details later for entrepreneurship loan program.
The sections below relate to Rapid Community Response Awards for Oklahoma suppliers and regional companies where their business expansions will create demand for labor.
Who May Participate?
To be eligible for participation in the Oklahoma Rapid Community Response Awards, a business must meet all of the following requirements:
- Must be a “for profit” business entity*;
- The Project facility must be located in Oklahoma and the project requires a minimum capital expenditure of at least $50,000;
- Must currently have a minimum payroll at the project facility of at least $312,500 per year. Employees must be direct employees of the applying entity. Payroll paid to a staffing firm does not qualify towards the payroll requirement;
- Funds cannot have been spent toward the new project prior to the Company having received an award letter recommending approval of the new project from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce;
- The new project must increase the demand for labor in South Central Oklahoma OR be a supplier to Michelin;
- The Project must meet all other eligibility requirements for participation in the Oklahoma Economic Development Pooled Finance Act set forth in 62 O.S. §891.1 et. Seq.
*Note: a “for profit business” is a business entity engaged in a lawful business activity with the goal or expectation of selling goods, services or other property at a price greater than the actual costs incurred by the business.
How May a Business be Considered for Participation?
To be considered for participation in the program, the business shall submit an application for participation to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce through the application portal on the Oklahoma Department of Commerce website along with a scanned, signed copy of the Agreement for Potential Participation in the Oklahoma Rapid Community Response Program. These documents, as well as the rules and a link to access the portal can be found on this page.
Once these applications have been received, qualifying businesses who are recommended for participation in the program shall receive an award letter from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, and their applications shall move forward in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Oklahoma Economic Development Pooled Finance Act. Businesses who do not meet the initial criteria for participation shall be notified by the Department that they do not qualify for the program.
Receipt of an award letter from The Department does NOT guarantee that the business or project will be qualified for the program. The business shall not be considered as having been accepted for the program, and is therefore not eligible to receive funding, until the business has executed a funding agreement with the Oklahoma Development Finance Authority.
Project Awards
Payment of awards given pursuant to the program shall be made from funds as specified in the Oklahoma Economic Development Pooled Finance Act and may be paid out to recipients by the Oklahoma Development Finance Authority quarterly.
Projects awarded funds will be those projects both who meet the criteria in this document and where the net benefit rate of the project is sufficient to sustain an award of Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000) or more. Projects which do not qualify for an award of at least $25,000 shall not be selected for participation in the program.
Project awards are paid only after the entity has submitted documentation that it has spent 10% of the project costs within 180 days after the date of approval. Project awards are not provided on an up-front basis and will not cover 100% of the proposed project costs.
Projects will be eligible to receive back up to half of qualifying project expenses. Projects larger in size may also consider other incentive programs.
Availability of Funds
Payroll withholdings tax from a major employer in the South Central Oklahoma region has been dedicated to this program for distribution to qualifying entities under the Oklahoma Rapid Community Response Program. Withholdings tax from the applicant itself will supplement each award as well. Dedicated funds shall be distributed to qualifying entities for qualifying projects on a first come, first serve basis until the funds are exhausted. Once the funds are exhausted, further applications may be denied due to a lack of funding.
Questions?
For questions about the program or program eligibility, please contact Walter Baker at the Oklahoma Department of Commerce at (405) 815-5122 or by e-mail at: walter.baker@okcommerce.gov.
Program FAQs
Frequently asked questions about the program will be posted here as they are developed.
Generally, companies participating in the RCRP must have an existing or projected payroll of $312,500 in order to participate, in addition to other requirements. Refer to the program rules for complete details.
A qualifying capital expenditure, as the term is used in the program, refers to money spent on the purchase of depreciable assets such as equipment, fixtures, machinery or improvements to property made by the business entity toward the new project. They do not include additional employee costs related to the new project, such as increased salary, wages or fringe benefits.
In filling out the Application, an applicant will want to be prepared to discuss or provide the following:
- Company FEI number
- Company NAICS code
- If company remits withholding taxes through a third party, such as a PEO, and the identity of the third party
- Most current fiscal year sales figures
- Total Budget for new project
- How much of the budget the company will contribute to the new project
- A narrative description of the project
- Number of persons currently employed by the company within Oklahoma
- Average annual wage of current jobs in Oklahoma
- Total current yearly payroll for the company in Oklahoma
- Number of jobs to be created by the new project in Oklahoma
- Average annual wage of the new jobs created by the project
- Timeline for new job creation
- Whether or not the company will create a qualifying health plan for new or existing jobs
- Timeline for the new project
- A narrative description of how the project will increase labor demand in South Central Oklahoma
- A description as to how the award would lead to diversification, new capabilities or expanded capabilities
- A completed copy of the Agreement for Potential Participation
No. Due to the inherent mobility of vehicles, a project based on the acquisition of vehicles does not create a sufficient benefit to the state for an award under the program.
Similar to the Quality Jobs Program, payroll for this incentive includes wages, overtime and bonuses. It does not include benefits, unemployment insurance or other payroll costs.
No, this the Rapid Community Response incentive is a rebate (not a grant) based on actual withholdings taxes associated with a company’s payroll.
No, since this incentive operates as a rebate, it is paid after the company demonstrates performance of 10% spend in the first one hundred and eighty days.
Your Oklahoma Rapid Community Response Program Team
Steven Bratcher
Jon Chiappe
