Supporting a business that already has proven itself in Lawrence is perhaps the best use of property tax incentives.

When it comes to maintaining a healthy business climate, it’s a natural to try to build on what you already have.

The proposed expansion of Amarr Garage Doors in the East Hills Business Park provides a good opportunity for Lawrence to do just that.

Amarr, which came to Lawrence in 1989, is considering whether to add 120,000 square feet to its current 240,000-square-foot plant. The expansion would provide about 80 new jobs, mostly production positions.

As it has for several previous expansions, Amarr is seeking a tax abatement from the city to help offset the expense of building the addition. The request for a 10-year, 55 percent property tax break is the first tax abatement request to come before the current city commission, which just completed work on a new living-wage provision as part of the city’s tax abatement policy. Amarr officials say that new provision won’t have an impact on their request because all of the jobs that would be created with the tax abatement would pay more than the required living-wage of $9.53 an hour.

That’s one hurdle cleared. However, tax abatements continue to draw considerable criticism from some in the community who think the city should be able to attract new businesses and hang onto existing businesses without offering the tax incentives.

It’s true that some communities don’t offer such incentives, but in the highly competitive arena of business development, tax abatements are an important tool. Lawrence has an “in” with Amarr because the company already has a large plant here, but Amarr also must make business decisions in a competitive arena. The margin between profit and loss is thin, and an incentive like a tax abatement can — and Amarr officials say, in this case, it will — make the difference.

Amarr has options. Officials say they also are considering another Midwest city that is closer to its steel supplier. Another option would be to move work to a plant in Mexico, which would further a trend of too many other American companies who are moving jobs to other countries in search of cheaper labor.

Interestingly, one of the factors Amarr officials cited for trying to expand their plant in Lawrence is the availability of workers here. This has been a successful location for them, which is why they’re interested in building on that success.

Tax abatements often are put on the table to attract new businesses to a community, but it is perhaps even more important to provide such incentives to companies that already have made a commitment to Lawrence. Using tax abatements to build on an already-successful partnership between a company and a community takes some of the risk out of the transaction.

Amarr has a good track record in Lawrence. It provides good jobs for residents, adding more jobs than projected in each of its previous tax abatement requests. It’s been a good corporate partner for Lawrence, and its abatement request deserves a positive reception from city officials.