The City of Austin and Travis County approved economic development agreements in March with National Instruments Corp. in exchange for creating 1,000 new jobs and expanding its Northwest Austin–based headquarters.

NI plans to construct a 300,000-square-foot facility at 11500 N. MoPac for office space and research and development. The company has been headquartered in Austin since 1976, and 2,440 of its 6,850 employees work in the city.

Mayor Lee Leffingwell said the agreement will make money for the city in the long run.

"At the end of the day, there's a profit. We're not spending money on these [agreements], we're making money on these," he said.

Travis County Commissioners Court approved its agreement March 12 and City Council gave its approval March 7. Through the city's deal, NI will receive $1.7 million over 10 years, and the company agreed to pay all construction workers and full-time employees at least $11 per hour. The average worker's salary would start at $63,000 with the median salary at $55,667. The county's deal would offer the company grants equivalent of up to 43 percent of the company's property taxes over 10 years in exchange for meeting certain investment and job creation criteria.

The deals are expected to have a $7.6 million net benefit to the city and $3.9 million net benefit to the county.

The State of Texas announced in February that it plans to contribute $4.4 million in economic development incentives through its Texas Enterprise Fund.

Travis County Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt said she fully supported NI's application.

"While I am no lover of these sorts of deals, in this respect, National Instruments has come before us and met every single aspect of the economic development policy we put forward in November, including the $11 wage floor, the health benefits provision, as well as considering a [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] Silver [designation]," she said.

Austin resident David King said he opposed the agreement because he felt it amounted to corporate subsidies and corporate welfare.

"If the goal of corporate tax subsidies is to bring in new taxpayers and help minimize tax increases, when will current taxpayers see any tax benefit?" King asked.