By Dan McElroy, Guest Column

Our state&8217;s cornerstone economic development tool for Greater Minnesota, the Job Opportunity Building Zone program, popularly known as JOBZ, has been hugely successful. So it comes as a surprise that some legislators want to eliminate JOBZ, a program that has produced almost 300 business development projects in greater Minnesota.

JOBZ began in 2004 and since then numerous companies have expanded and relocated within our state and moved here from other states. They have created between five and 296 jobs each with an average wage of $14.99 per hour. In all, the program has added more than 4,800 jobs to

Minnesota&8217;s economy and resulted in private investments totaling more than $633 million.

There are hundreds of stories about how the program achieves powerful payoffs and rewards that will never be accounted for on a balance sheet. Things like a renewed sense of enthusiasm and hope, a more close-knit community, and a shared sense of responsibility for making good things happen. Let me share just one of them.

Last summer Redwood Falls, a southwestern Minnesota city of 5,500, was reeling. Artesyn Technologies, a subsidiary of Emerson Electric, the city&8217;s largest employer, announced that it was closing, leaving 240 people jobless with few prospects for re-employment. Many households would have lost two jobs to the layoffs.

Within days, community leaders made a JOBZ presentation to South Dakota-based Daktronics, one of the world’s largest suppliers of electronic scoreboards and computer-programmable displays. Their pitch was successful, and today Daktronics is manufacturing its line of Galaxy electronic message centers in Redwood Falls.

The company hired about 100 people right away, and expects to see annual employment growth of 20 percent or more.

Meanwhile, another division of Emerson Electric, Astec-Artesyn, was also slated to close. But employee Robin Stegner convinced Emerson officials to consider spinning off the division and selling it. The company agreed and Stegner found a buyer in Montevideo businessman Kevin Wald, whose company provides power supply repair and upgrades for a wide variety of communications, computing and networking companies. Wald hired 40 people initially, and expects to hire more as the company grows.

All told, more than 140 people in Redwood Falls who thought they would lose their jobs now have new employers thanks to a major company expansion and another company spin-off made possible in part by the JOBZ program.

Clearly, JOBZ is a winning strategy for greater Minnesota. This is a program that should be expanded and improved, not eliminated.

The law creating JOBZ called for the creation of tax-free zones for 12 years, ending on December 31, 2015.

The later a company enrolls, the less time it has to claim the incentives. Gov. Tim Pawlenty has proposed to allow JOBZ businesses to have a full 10 years of tax benefit after entering the program.

Minnesota must compete aggressively for business development. Our closest competitors in Wisconsin, Iowa and the Dakotas all employ subsidies, tax credits or other forms of business incentives to attract and retain good and growing businesses. Wisconsin even created its own version of the JOBZ program after a few companies took advantage of Minnesota&8217;s JOBZ incentives and moved across the border.

In 2003, the Legislature wisely recognized that all Minnesotans have a vital interest, based on both economics and equity, in ensuring that good jobs are available across the state. People won&8217;t live where there isn&8217;t access to an employment opportunity.

JOBZ has proved to be an extremely useful tool for achieving these economic development goals. Minnesota communities are employing this important program to attract new and expanding businesses, create thousands of good jobs, contribute to robust economic health, and restore a sense of hope for the future.

When seen from cities and workplaces across Minnesota where JOBZ has been put to such effective use, it’s obvious that we&8217;ve built momentum. We must not lose it.

Dan McElroy is commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.