Seal Beach Boeing gets defense contract

It is not clear what benefits, if any, the city of Seal Beach will enjoy as the result of a new defense contract for the local Boeing unit.

The U.S. Department of Defense awarded the Seal Beach Boeing unit a $25.7 million contract last month. Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems is headquartered in Seal Beach.

According to the Defense Department Web site, Boeing in Seal Beach received a $25,779,858 contract modification to develop the logistics infrastructure for the space-based Block 10 surveillance system.

On Monday, Jan. 3, Seal Beach Director of Development Services Mark Persico said it was difficult to say if the city of Seal Beach would see any benefit from the contract.

He said he was aware of the contract from media reports. He said he did not know the details. He did not know if the new contract would create local jobs.

Persico pointed out that sales tax information is confidential.

The Boeing Company was not mentioned in the most recent “City of Seal Beach Sales Tax Update” published by the HdL Companies. The report covered sales tax revenues generated in Seal Beach during the second quarter of 2010.

The report listed the city’s 25 highest sales tax producing businesses.

The list included two local supermarkets and four service stations—but did not include the aerospace/defense company.

Persico said the defense contract might generate some use tax revenue, but that was hard to predict.

“We don’t know what additional equipment they may or may not purchase to complete the contract,” Persico said.

The DOD announced the Seal Beach contract on Dec. 21.