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All other substantive provisions of the proposed ordinance come directly from -the Statutes and represent the minimum criteria which must be incorporated within a property tax exemption ordinance. These provisions include: •Definitions - The principal definitions relate to new business and expansion of an existing business. According to these definitions, a new business which is an industrial or manufacturing plant must create ten or more full-time jobs, while a non -industrial, non -manufacturing plant new business must create twenty-five or more new full-time jobs and have a sales factor less than .50 for the facility. (Sales factor is a fraction, the numerator of which is the -taxpayer's sales in Florida, while the denominator is the taxpayer's sales everywhere.) Office space may also qualify as a new business if it is.owned and used by a corporation newly domiciled in the state and houses fifty or more full-time employees of the corporation. The definition of expansion of an existing business is similar. -•Applicability - Tax exemptions may be given only to new businesses or expansions of existing businesses as defined in the ordinance. •Exemption - The exemption shall apply to up to 100 percent of the assessed value of all improvements to real property and all tangible personal property of qualifying businesses. •Taxes Exempted - The exemption shall apply only to county imposed taxes, but shall not apply to school taxes or voted taxes to retire bonds. •Timeframe - Applications must be filed on or before March 1st of the year the exemption is requested. •Geographic Scope - The tax exemption shall apply in both the incorporated and unincorporated areas of Indian River County. •Procedure - Once an applicant applies for an exemption, the Community Development Department in coordination with the Property Appraiser prepares a report on the fiscal impact of granting the requested exemption. This report and other appropriate information is then considered by the EDC which makes a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners. The Board makes the final decision regarding the requested tax exemption based upon: anticipated number of employees, average wage, type of industry or business, environmental impacts, volume of business or production, and other criteria. •Referendum Besides considering the proposed tax abatement ordinance, the Board must also address the issue of whether or not to provide information to the public regarding the proposed referendum. According to the County Attorney, the Board not only has the right to provide information to the public regarding referendum questions that it has placed on the ballot, but actually has the responsibility to advocate passage of a referendum. issue deemed to be in the public interest. 27 AR - 2 1,993BOOK � PAGE 955