Fitzpatrick Announces Proposed Job Legislation at Warminster Facility

Congressman Michael Fitzpatrick (R) joined the President of Havis, Inc. Michael Bernert on Monday at the company’s headquarters in Warminster to announce a new legislation proposal that would give a tax credit to expanding small business owners.

“Job number one is getting Americans back to work” Fitzpatrick said to a crowd of local media and employees of the Havis, Inc. factory on Jacksonville Road, Monday afternoon.

Fitzpatrick unveiled that he is currently in the process of writing a piece of legislation that would provide a one-time $1,000 tax credit to any small business that is hiring an employee.

“The idea is to promote some confidence in the small business community” Fitzpatrick said, “Let them know that their Federal government supports them.”

Fitzpatrick hopes that the tax credit will offset the cost of training and hiring and get residents back to work, he said.

Fitzpatrick was meeting with Bernert and Havis, Inc. employees to congratulate them on their success and to thank them for the opportunity to help the company with its next project.

About a year ago, the Warminster-based company sought a piece of property that bordered the current building so that they could construct a new facility, but because of legal red tape, and regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency, the usually short process of acquiring the land has taken more than 14 months.

Until recently, when representatives from Havis, Inc. contacted the office of Fitzpatrick who was “able to get in touch with two particular Federal agencies to release the ability of Havis to go to settlement so they could put the building up and get people to work,” Fitzpatrick said.

“Here’s a business that’s actually trying to expand and they have things standing in their way” Fitzpatrick said.

Havis, Inc. is a Warminster based manufacturer of emergency vehicle consoles, computer mounts, prisoner transport systems, K-9 transports and emergency lighting

Started in a small garage in Willow Grove with four people in 1980, the company now has  about 200 employees and a branch in Michigan.

The proposed building would most likely house manufacturing machinery, Bernert said.

“I don’t know what [Fitzpatrick] did. We couldn’t seem to push [the application] off the right person’s desk and he was able to get it done” Bernert said. “It was very much appreciated.”