12/22/1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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DEC 2 2 1992 BOOK 88 PACE.359 -7 • When to have the referendum. Consideration is being given to having it in conjunction with the next countywide referendum (children's services or beach renourishment). • Duration of abatement. While state law allows a 10 year abatement, that is a maximum. St. Lucie County bases the duration of its abatement on the number of county residents employed by the business. • Eligible businesses. Since tax abatement should provide an incentive for businesses that can locate in other areas to locate in Indian River County, tax abatement should not apply to retail businesses that must locate near their markets. A decision needs to be made on which businesses should be eligible and which should not be. • Approval of abatement. While the Board of County Commissioners must approve the tax abatement application of any business, should that decision be discretionary or should the tax abatement be a matter of right if eligibility criteria are met? St. Lucie County reviews each application on a case-by-case basis. • Amount of abatement. Sate law provides that a tax abatement program may grant a tax exemption of up to loot of the assessed value of improvements made to real property. Since the amount of exemption may be less than 100%, the opportunity exists for the county to vary the amount based upon the impact of the business. These are just some of the issues which must be considered in structuring a property tax abatement program for the county. In pursuing the issue, staff had planned to do more detailed research, develop specific recommendations, and present a draft program to the Economic Development Council for consideration. At the present time, staff requests that the Board of County Commissioners authorize staff to proceed with development of a property tax abatement program. By so doing, the board would charge the Economic Development Council with preparing a tax abatement program, while retaining review and approval authority regarding the program. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the -Board of County Commissioners review the economic initiatives status report, consider the property tax abatement issue, provide direction to staff, and authorize staff to work with the Economic Development Council to prepare a property tax abatement program. Director Keating stressed that initiatives relating to utility expansion and roadway improvements are two of the most important activities that ensure economic development. Chairman Eggert commented that she had been meeting throughout the past 6 months with Administrator Chandler and department heads and they determined that the County can get the infrastructure out 26 ® M M