(A) Any person or entity desiring that the city consider real, lease or personal property abatement must comply with the following procedural guidelines. Nothing herein shall imply or suggest that the city is under any obligation to provide tax abatement, or provide any length and/or level/value of tax abatement to any applicant.
(B) (1) Application process. The applicant shall submit a letter of application for tax abatement to the City Secretary for submission to the City Council. The application must:
(a) Give a detailed explanation of the proposed project (improvements to real property, creation/addition/retention of jobs, and/or addition of leased or personal property);
(b) Address all criteria questions and information outlined in § 35.24 above;
(c) Provide an attached current survey of the real property and the precise location of all proposed improvements/additions, along with a legal description of the real property where all improvements/additions will be located;
(d) Provide the sworn statement required by § 35.24(B) above if the abatement sought is in whole or in part for job retention;
(e) Identify the name, address, telephone number (and, if available, fax number) of the applicant's contact person for purposes of the application;
(f) Identify the business organization of the applicant (such as sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, and the like) and any assumed or trade names under which the applicant operates;
(g) Provide documentation of the feasibility of the project (financing, and the like); and
(h) Identify how the project will comply with or fit within the criteria and guidelines set forth in the preceding sections.
(2) All applicants will be reviewed by the City Council's designee or designees for accuracy and completeness, and the applicant will provide verification of all information provided or additional information requested by the City Council or its designee. The application will then be placed on the agenda for a meeting of the City Council for consideration.
(C) The application shall be considered at a meeting of the City Council held in compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act. If the abatement would involve the creation or expansion of a Reinvestment Zone, a public hearing must first be held in accordance with the procedures and notice required in Tex. Property Tax Code, Ch. 312, V.A.C.S. No applicant has a legal right or expectation to a favorable determination by the City Council.
(D) The abatement, if granted, must be made pursuant to a tax abatement agreement which meets all of the requirements of law and is acceptable to the City Council. A tax abatement agreement must be approved by the City Council for execution by the Mayor before it can be effective. Any abatement is for city taxes only, and does not provide abatement from taxation by other entities in whose taxing jurisdiction the property may be located unless otherwise provided by state law.
(E) The tax abatement agreement must contain all of the requirements of Tex. Property Tax Code, §§ 312.204 and 312.205, V.A.C.S., as amended.
(F) Property owned or leased by a member of the City Council is not eligible for tax abatement.
(Ord. 641, passed 11-20-2006; Am. Ord. 715, passed 4-18-2011)