7.1 EDSR 05-20-2024 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Policy Considerations The City has a tax increment financing policy to ensure that projects receiving assistance are consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan, strategic plan, Mississippi Connections plan and most recent housing study (as applicable for housing projects). Pursuant to the public purpose considerations of the policy, the City will consider TIF for projects that achieve one or more of the following: 1. Demonstrate long-term benefits to the community. 2. Retain local jobs and/or increase the number and diversity of jobs that offer stable employment and/or attractive wages and benefits through: a. Diversification of the local economy b. Significant addition of permanent, high-wage, full-time jobs c. Addition of jobs attractive to those unemployed or underemployed 3. Significantly increases the city’s commercial and industrial tax base 4. Demonstrates the ability to encourage unsubsidized private development through “spin off” development. 5. Facilitates the development process and achieves development on sites that would not develop “but for” the use of TIF. 6. Removes blight and/or encourages redevelopment of commercial and industrial areas resulting in high quality redevelopment and private reinvestment. 7. Offsets redevelopment costs (i.e. contaminated site cleanup) over and above the costs normally incurred in development. 8. Aids the implementation of the Mississippi Connections Plan Based on the extent to which the project achieves the policy statements (1-6 above), the city will consider TIF for projects in the following categories: • Manufacturing • Major office warehouse/production facilities • Research and development • Commercial projects encouraging substantial redevelopment of substandard properties • Housing needs identified in the most recent city housing study Assistance for TIF is required to meet the uses identified by statute including, but not limited to the following: • Public improvements • Land acquisition and land write down • Loans • Site preparation and improvement • Demolition • Legal, administration, and engineering The preferred method of TIF is pay-as-you-go for eligible costs as reimbursement, upfront financing maybe considered on a case-by-case basis. Policy Considerations Each project is required to meet the “but-for” test to determine the need for and level of assistance. This test and the amount of tax increment generated determines the district’s term. It is difficult to facilitate a redevelopment, housing or soils condition district for less than the maximum term as the extraordinary costs involved are usually significant. Consideration: the developer has stated the assistance is necessary for the project to proceed and has stated that without the upfront land write down assistance, the project would not proceed. The term of the district could coincide with the amount of tax increment the city has to spend on its priorities within a project area. Consideration: the full term of the district would be necessary to repay land write down. Page 41 of 64