Businesses in Quincy, Illinois, are growing — and the area’s workforce needs to catch up. The city’s economic development organization typically works to recruit businesses to the area. Last year, the organization shifted to recruiting people instead.
To ramp things up, the Quincy City Council established an incentive program that will reimburse people up to $3,500 of their rent or lease after they live in Adams County for at least six months. The rebate is part of the Quincy Workforce Relocation Assistance Program and also includes a reimbursement of up to $5,000 on property taxes.
The catch? Those workers also have to take a job in Adams County. Quincy Mayor Mike Troup said more than 700 jobs in the area are ready for the taking.
Troup noted that the cost of living in the region is almost 25% less than the national average and the cost of housing is 52% lower than the national average.
“We've got what families are looking for: a strong educational system, good quality of life, clean air, virtually no traffic, you can drive from one end of the town to the next — if it takes you 15 minutes, that means you hit every light that's possible,” he claimed.
He listed some of its other perks: lots of parks, a growing arts and culture scene — and its hubs: retail, medical and educational. “Our manufacturing core is [also] significant, not only with strong businesses that provide products throughout the U.S., but internationally as well,” he added.
Approved in August, the program is now starting to gain traction — so far, 24 individuals have signed up. Approximately 40,000 people currently live in the city. The goal of the rebate program is to attract 5,000 new residents by 2030.
Troup noted that many businesses only help new employees with moving expenses when they’re asked to relocate.
“What nobody was offering were these two incentives. To take the pain out of a move, we thought this is something that Quincy could provide that will help businesses attract the people,” he said.
“And the people considering, ‘Do I move or do I stay put,’ it takes another financial burden away to say, ‘You know what? The community's opening up their arms and welcoming. Let's take a look at this thing more seriously.’”
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