Elk Grove City Council Approves Subaru Incentive

The Elk Grove City Council unanimously approved a $150,000 economic incentive for the Subaru dealership located at the Elk Grove Auto Mall at last night's regular meeting.

The request came from Lasher Auto Group which owns the Elk Grove Subaru dealership under Elk Grove's economic development incentive program. That program was designed to attract and retain businesses and jobs in the city.

Lasher sought $200,000 to help expand storage facilities and said that the additional capacity would help increase sales. Dealership owner Mark Lasher said the extra storage could help boost sales from $9 million annually to $20 million.

According to city staff reports, each $10 million in revenue generates an additional $100,000 in sales tax revenues for the city. The city, which has already approved incentives for the auto malls Ford and Mazda dealerships, has $187,899 remaining in the economic development fund.

"I think that is an immediate return," council member Pat Hume noted.