FLORIDA — The Hero Group Inc. would lose as much as $1 million for each year the number of employees at its new plant falls below levels set in a payment in lieu of taxes agreement headed for a final vote next week by the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors.

The 20-year agreement, one of several incentives tied to the development of the new baby food facility in the Florida Business Park, also calls for the Hero Group to pay back any financial assistance in the event it fails to meet several commitments, according to a draft of the agreement.

"They're under strict guidelines with regard to their employment," Montgomery County Economic Development Director Ken Rose said today.

Officials this week celebrated groundbreaking for the $124 million project. The company expects to maintain 356 positions and create another 135 jobs by building the new facility.

The PILOT sets a base employment level at 393 jobs through January 2013 and 491 jobs thereafter.

The Hero Group would have to pay sales tax, mortgage recording tax and any other financial assistance if the company fails to build the facility, leaves the site or transfers 15 percent of its workforce of 393 employees before January 2013, according to the draft.

The company will pay $2.5 million each of the 20 years in the agreement, but will get that money back for the first 13 years.

The town of Florida, Montgomery County and the Greater Amsterdam School District will start receiving money from the PILOT in 2022. Annual payments for these taxing jurisdictions will be set at $976,000 for the county, $1.464 million for the school district and $60,000 for the town.

Those seven remaining years of the PILOT will yield $6.832 million to Montgomery County, $10.248 million to the Greater Amsterdam School District and $420,000 to the Town of Florida, according to the agreement.

The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on the PILOT during its meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday.