VIDALIA &8212; The special utility incentive the city has agreed to give the new Wal-Mart SuperCenter has elicited some grumbles from the local business community but will benefit Vidalia, Mayor Hyram Copeland said.

&8220;It&8217;s a special rate we instituted to bring more industry and business to the area,&8221; he said.

The 10-year incentive calls for Wal-Mart to receive a credit for up to $300,000 against its utility bill.

Each subsequent year, the maximum possible credit &8212; which is paid monthly against its outstanding bill &8212; drops by $30,000, or 10 percent of the first year&8217;s maximum potential credit.

By year 11, Wal-Mart would pay the same rates as other large-commercial businesses.

The incentive hinges on the company&8217;s employing more than 200 people or generating sales tax contributions greater than $600,000 yearly.

If the company fails to reach either mark, their rates convert to the standard, large commercial rate.

With $600,000 of sales tax revenue and a $300,000 credit, Copeland said, the city still comes out ahead.

&8220;For Vidalia, it&8217;s great,&8221; he said. &8220;They&8217;re bringing in 200 jobs and tax revenues to the city.&8221;

Copeland said the city needed to offer incentives to get Wal-Mart to come within city limits.

&8220;They could have built on the other side of the Kaiser Mobil, and we&8217;d get no sales taxes,&8221; he said.

While the incentive might have helped land Wal-Mart within city limits, it hasn&8217;t made some local business owners too happy.

Barry Loy, retail operations director for Supermarket Operations, said the Vidalia Market is put at a disadvantage when a competitor gets a better utility rate.

&8220;The only thing we ask is to give us the same opportunity,&8221; he said. &8220;Don&8217;t penalize us; put us all on a level playing field.&8221;

Loy said if the city is going to cut the rate for one company, it should cut them for everyone.

&8220;If you&8217;re going to give it to them for 10 years, you should give it to us for 10 years,&8221; he said.

While the incentive is a one-time deal signed with Wal-Mart, Copeland and City Manager Kenny Davis said any company bringing in 200 jobs or $600,000 in sales tax revenue would be given a similar deal.

Copeland said the entire process by which the cooperative endeavor agreement was approved by the aldermen was open to the public.

&8220;We had public hearings, the ordinance was public record,&8221; he said. &8220;But nobody said anything about it.&8221;

Like Loy, Sheldon Kaiser, owner of Kaiser Petroleum, is not thrilled to have Wal-Mart moving in next to his Mobil station, but said the incentive doesn&8217;t strike him as unfair.

&8220;I&8217;m sure Wal-Mart asked,&8221; he said. &8220;I wonder how many other companies asked?&8221;

Kaiser said Copeland had &8220;bent over backwards&8221; to help him when he was building his new store in Vidalia, and bringing new business to the city was the mayor&8217;s job.

The source of complaints Kaiser hears from other Vidalia business owners is simple &8212; they are worried.

&8220;I&8217;m right next door trying to sell gas. I don&8217;t like it any more than anyone else, but that&8217;s free trade; that&8217;s America.&8221;