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• Tax Abatement Application Review In accordance with the provisions of the tax abatement ordinance, planning staff coordinated with the County Attorney's Office, the Property Appraisers Office (PAO), and the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce to process/review the Diamond Drinks of Florida, Inc. tax abatement application. Specifically, the County Attorney's Office completed an expedited due diligence review of the company and in conjunction with planning staff prepared a proposed ordinance and tax abatement agreement; the Chamber of Commerce completed an Economic Impact Analysis report (see attachment 6); and the PAO prepared an estimate of revenue that would be lost to the County for the current fiscal year if the tax abatement were granted (see attachment 7). The County's Economic Development Council (EDC) reviewed the application at their March 16, 2021 regular meeting. Although a quorum was not present, the consensus of the EDC members present was to recommend that the Board of County Commissioners approve the requested tax abatement. The BCC is now to review and make a decision on the Diamond Drinks of Florida, Inc. tax abatement application and proposed ordinance and agreement; taking into consideration the Chamber of Commerce and PAO reports, the EDC recommendation, staff's analysis contained in this agenda item, and other factors the BCC may consider. ANALYSIS As structured, the County's tax abatement ordinance authorizes the BCC, at its sole discretion, to grant qualifying businesses an exemption from certain ad valorem taxes (property taxes) for a period of up to 10 years. Under the ordinance, the BCC may exempt (abate) up to 100% of the assessed value of new real property improvements and newly installed tangible personal property for purposes of assessing "County taxes". Consistent with the tax abatement ordinance, the "County taxes" that will be abated for the Diamond Drinks of Florida, Inc. project are those taxes associated with the General Fund, the Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU), and the Emergency Services District Fund. No other taxes, such as School District taxes or taxes levied for the payment of bonds, are affected by tax abatement. For the 2020/2021 budget year, the combined amount of the 3 "County taxes" referenced above comprises approximately 47.8% of the property tax bill for the subject properties within unincorporated county. Qualifying for Tax Abatement Consistent with state statutes, the County's tax abatement program is an economic development incentive available for business expansion projects and new business projects that qualify under the terms of the tax abatement ordinance. In this case, the proposed Diamond Drinks of Florida, Inc. is a new manufacturer in the County that will manufacture plastic bottles and fruit flavored juices. The company will employ fifty (5 0) people. Per the tax abatement ordinance, a new manufacturing business that employees at least ten (10) or more new : full-time employees is eligible to apply to the program. Since Diamond Drinks of Florida, Inc. proposes to hire fifty (50) employees, its facility qualifies for tax abatement consideration under the terms of the tax abatement ordinance (see page 3 of attachment # 1). 2 C:\Users\legistar\AppData\Local\Temp\BCLTechnologies\easyPDF 8\@BCL@880E2271\@BCL@880E2271.doc