VERNON : Funds for Meat Plant Create 100 New Jobs

Clougherty Packing Co., maker of Dodger Dogs and other meat products under the Farmer John label, will receive $7 million in funding to finance an expansion project that will bring 100 new jobs to the Southeast area.

The funding, made available through tax-exempt bonds to be issued through the city by Thursday, will enable the company to replace outdated buildings and equipment at its meat-processing plant at 3049 E. Vernon Ave.

The finance plan was approved by the California Development Financing Advisory Commission earlier this month. The commission issues tax-exempt bonds to provide small manufacturing firms with capital to create jobs.

The Vernon City Council voted Nov. 2 to form an Industrial Development Authority, a nonprofit entity to act as a conduit for the state bonds, said Gerald Forde, an assistant to the city administrator who specializes in economic development.

“We were concerned about the loss of jobs and the loss of tradition in the city,� Forde said. “We serve as an employment base for adjacent communities so we’re concerned when companies like (Clougherty) need help.�

About 53,000 people work in Vernon, but the city lost 991 jobs in 1992, Forde said, and has lost at least 18 major companies since 1980. Farmer John is one of the city’s largest remaining employers with 1,181 workers.

The family-owned company, which opened in Vernon in 1942, had considered moving its meat-processing operation to Arizona, where cities near the company’s hog farms were offering incentives to relocate, said Bernie Clougherty, company vice president.

The funding will help replace the company’s slaughtering and conversion facility with a state-of-the art building and equipment that will increase production, among other benefits.

Without the financial help, the company would not have been able to afford upgrades recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Timothy C. Collins, Clougherty’s financial consultant.

The USDA has heightened its level of inspection at meat plants since January, when undercooked fast-food hamburger tainted with e. coli bacteria killed three children and made 300 people ill, Collins said.