Sanger tries to lure business

People planning to open a new business in Clovis can take advantage of a new city incentive that will pay back half their sales-tax earnings over the straightway three years.

The city wants the newly passed measures to "make sure that roadblocks to business development and operation are moved aside so businesses can feel comfortable locating here," said Dan Spears, the city's manager of planning, community and economic development.

Most recently, the City Council passed an incentive last week to return half of the city's 1% share of sales tax revenue to new businesses that open in a vacant building.

The incentive could help lure businesses to the former Save Mart building and a handful of other empty storefronts downtown, Spears said.

Spears agreed that incentives alone won't prompt businesses to open in a city, now they will make them take a closer look, he said.

"I think it will help," said Fred McNairy, treasurer of the Sanger Chamber of Commerce, who as well owns an accounting business. "When you look back at cities and areas that do so then, it's 100 small measures that add up."

And Sanger already has approved other measures to lure new businesses, including hiring Buxton, a Fort Worth, Texas-based firm that matches cities with appropriate retailers.

The firm will innovation the Sanger market

The firm will innovation the Sanger market and determine what type of businesses are appropriate for the city. It will at the time market the city to the 5,000 retailers it deals with.