(A) Purpose. This section shall hereafter be known, cited, and referred to as the “Economic and Industrial Development Ordinance of 1985.” The purpose of this section is the creation of an Economic and Industrial Program; an Economic and Industrial Review Board; and provide for the regulation and operation of each.
(B) Jurisdiction. The jurisdiction for this section and the functioning of the Economic and Industrial Development Program and the Economic and Industrial Review Board shall be within the boundaries of the county.
(C) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
BOARD. The Economic and Industrial Review Board.
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS. The Board of Commissioners of the county.
BUSINESS. The retail or wholesale of goods and services, or other standard definitions, to the Board or Board of Commissioners.
COUNTY. Floyd County, Indiana.
DEVELOPING BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY. An industry or business which is expanding facilities within the county or a business or a industry initially locating within the county.
MANUFACTURING. The production of or the processing of raw, intermediate, or finished products, and may also be defined by other standard definitions acceptable to the Board and Board of Commissioners.
PROGRAM. The Economic and Industrial Development Program.
(D) Economic and Industrial Development Program.
(1) The Economic and Industrial Development Program is hereby created, and shall be utilized to financially assist developing businesses and industries, as defined in division (C) above.
(2) Funds available under this Program shall be used for the construction, remodeling, or purchase of assets which shall include: buildings; land; site improvements; equipment; fixtures; and furnishings.
(3) Said funds shall be applied directly to said development or purchases, or may be used to otherwise support such development or purchases in any manner acceptable to the Board and Board of Commissioners, including, but not limited to: construction of roads; sewer and water lines; or other utilities.
(3) Financial assistance made to developing manufacturing industries shall be in the form of loans, unless otherwise specifically authorized by the Board of Commissioners.
(4) Applications for processing and administration of any financial assistance under this Program shall be carried out in accordance with division (E) below.
(E) Applications, processing of application, and administration of financial assistance.
(1) Application for financial assistance shall be made to the Board on forms provided by the Board, minimally to include the following:
(a) Applicant’s name, address, and phone number;
(b) Names of all involved parties, partners, and corporate officers;
(c) Number of existing employees and the number of new jobs to be created as a result of the project;
(d) Expected additional annual payroll for project, specifying the number of new jobs;
(e) Amount of loan requested;
(f) Amount of overall project cost; and
(g) Signature of applicant.
(2) In addition to the application form, the applicant shall submit the following descriptive and supportive documentation:
(a) Project summary by specific category, including project item cost and proposed sources of financing;
(b) Narrative statements, as follows:
1. Description of business (history, products, formation, and the like);
2. Description of property;
3. Financial condition of business;
4. Description of security for loan;
5. Economic impact and other comments;
6. Public services required, or made necessary by, the project; and
7. Pollution or environmental problems expected to be associated with project.
(c) The following specific documentation shall be submitted to the Board upon request, and at the applicants cost and expense:
1. Financial statements for prior years (balance sheets and statements of profit and loss);
2. Copies of past tax returns;
3. Recent financial statements;
4. Articles of incorporation and by-laws; and
5. Any additional information or data specifically requested by the Board.
(3) (a) The Board shall, in its review of any application, adhere strictly to any requirements of any state or federal agencies which have jurisdiction over the source of funds being loaned.
(b) Specific attention and adherence must be given any provisions of grant agreements regulating the source of funds. State or federal requirements shall not be modified or waived without authorization from the state or federal agency having jurisdiction.
(4) The Board may review a proposal informally prior to the submission by the applicant of all documentation on a preliminary basis, but shall not formulate any recommendation to the Board of Commissioners until full documentation has been received and reviewed.
(5) The time period between the Board’s receipt of the application with full documentation and the forwarding of a recommendation to the Board of Commissioners shall not exceed 60 days, except that the Board of Commissioners may waive this requirement upon request.
(6) At any time during the processing and review of an application, the Board may confer with the Board of Commissioners concerning any matter pertaining to same.
(7) During the processing and review of an application by the Board, the following criteria and policies shall be strictly followed, unless waived in a particular case, by the Board of Commissioners.
(a) The maximum loan which may be made shall be $250,000, and the minimum shall be $50,000.
(b) The maximum amount that may be utilitized for administrative purposes in the processing and administration of any loan shall be 5% of the present value of the loan. Administration funds shall be paid from the Economic and Industrial Development Fund, but shall not be a part of the loan being requested.
(c) The minimum amount which must be available in the Economic and Industrial Development Fund before a loan may be considered shall be 105% of the present value of the loan being requested.
(d) Maximum participation by the county in any single project shall be 50% of the total cost of the project.
(e) The maximum participation of the county in any single project shall not exceed $7,500 per job to be created by the project.
(f) The maximum term of a loan, whether for real estate improvements (including land purchase, building construction, renovation, or site improvements) or for the purchase of equipment, fixtures, or furnishings, or for a combination of real estate and personal property, shall be ten years; provided, such term shall not, however, exceed the term of the loan made by the applicant with a participating lender or the useful life of the collateral pledged by the applicant as security for the loan.
(g) All loans shall be secured by either a mortgage or security agreement as appropriate, or a combination of a mortgage and security agreement. In cases with multiple sources of borrowed funds, the county may subordinate its security position on the mortgage or security agreement if the Board and Board of Commissioners deem the chances of recovery in case of default not be inordinately jeopardized.
(h) An applicant shall have at least 10% equity in the project which is not borrowed funds. Any form of equity financing may be utilized to meet this requirement, but in no case shall this requirement be debt financed.
(i) The project must be determined by the Board and Board of Commissioners to be feasible and reasonable, and the applicant shall produce evidence of capacity to repay the loan.
(8) (a) After the Board has fully processed and reviewed an application and has submitted its recommendation to the Board of Commissioners, the Board of Commissioners shall approve, reject, or modify the project.
(b) In the case of modification, the application shall be returned to the Board for reconsideration and modification, and shall be returned to the Board of Commissioners for final action.
(c) In the event of rejection, the decision is final, and the same project shall not be resubmitted for review during the 12-month period after the date of rejection.
(d) In the event of application approval, Chairperson of the Board of Commissioners, the County Auditor, the County Attorney, the County Grant Administrator, and the Chairperson of the Review Board shall be authorized to execute all documents necessary to close the loan, and shall be further be authorized to administer the loan disbursement and repayment in accordance with division (G) below.
(9) Complete and separate records shall be kept on the history of all approved projects from the inception of the application through the complete repayment of the loan.
(10) Complete and separate records shall be kept for each source of funds the county utilizes in the Program.
(F) Economic and Industrial Review Board.
(1) The Economic and Industrial Review Board is hereby created.
(2) The Board shall be composed of seven members and the membership shall consist of persons with knowledge and experience in community affairs, awareness of the social, economic, and industrial problems of the area, and an interest in the development of the county. All terms shall be for a period of four years, beginning January 1, and expiring December 31.
(3) The Board of Commissioners shall fill vacancies which occur in the membership of the Board.
(4) After appointment, a member shall not be removed except for good and sufficient cause.
(5) A quorum of the Board shall consist of a majority of members.
(6) No business or action shall be considered authorized except by affirmative vote of a majority of the Board.
(7) Any member of the Board having a personal financial interest in a project shall be disqualified from participation of the Board in that project. The Board minutes shall reflect the disqualification and state the reason for the disqualification.
(8) The Board shall maintain minutes of its meetings and other records as necessary.
(9) The Board shall submit an annual report to the Board of Commissioners on the first Monday of each January.
(10) The Board shall meet at such times as may be necessary to conduct its business. At the first meeting of each calendar year, the Board shall elect from its membership a Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and Secretary to serve in those capacities until their successors are duly elected and qualified. Special meetings may be called by the Board Chairperson, the Board of Commissioners, or by at least three members of the Board upon notification of all members at least three days prior to the meeting date.
(11) The Board may, as necessary to carry out its business, adopt such forms, rules, and policies as are in conformity with this section, and not contrary to law.
(G) Economic and Industrial Development Fund.
(1) The County Auditor, in accordance with the State Board of Accounts’ procedures and regulations, shall establish a fund and account for the receipt and disbursement of funds for the Economic and Industrial Development Program.
(2) The Economic and Industrial Development Fund may receive monies from state and federal programs designated for the purpose of the Economic and Industrial Development Program, or monies received through repayment of loans made in accordance with state and federal programs and this section.
(a) Any monies collected in such manner shall be received and disbursed through the Economic and Industrial Development Fund.
(b) The Fund may also receive and disburse monies from other sources, but shall not utilize general tax revenues or any other monies not specifically authorized for use in accordance with the purposes of the Economic and Development Program, as defined and described in this section.
(3) Monies shall not be disbursed from the Economic and Industrial Development Fund without specific authorization by the Board of Commissioners based on an application for assistance through the Economic and Industrial Development Board, excepting only funds approved by resolution of the Board of Commissioners to be spent in the county in the development of an industrial park, or other similar industrial development facility; or the construction of roads, sewers, water lines, or other utility services withing the county, to include the use of monies from the Fund as a match for state grants for such provisions.
(4) The Chairperson of the Board of Commissioners, or his or her designee, is hereby designated as the approving authority for authorized disbursements from the Economic and Industrial Development Fund, and shall sign and submit claims to the County Auditor.
(5) Accounting for the Economic and Industrial Development Fund shall be made separately for each approved application and shall be made separately for each source of funds receipted into the Economic and Industrial Development Fund. The Board shall make summaries of such accountings an integral part of its annual report to the Board of Commissioners.
(H) Low and moderate income benefit. During application review, the Economic Development Revolving Loan Fund Board and the Board of Commissioners shall make a good faith effort to assure the maximum achievable benefit to low and moderate income persons through job creation as a result of loan approval activity under this Program.
(I) Local Displacement Plan. Pursuant to division (F) above and the requirements of the State Department of Commerce, the following Local Displacement Plan be, and the same hereby is, adopted and shall be applicable to such Community Development Block Grant Programs as the county may, from time to time, undertake.
(1) The county will consider for submission to the state under its various Community Development Block Grant-Funded Programs only projects and activities which will result in the displacement of as few persons or businesses as necessary to meet state and local development goals and objectives.
(2) The county will certify to the state, as part of its application process, that it is seeking funds for a project or activity which will minimize displacement.
(3) The county will provide referral and reasonable moving assistance, both in terms of staff time and dollars, to all persons involuntarily and permanently displaced by any project or activity funded with Community Development Block Grant funds.
(4) All persons and businesses directly displaced by the county as the result of a project or activity funded with Community Development Block Grant funds will receive all assistance required under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Act of 1970, being 42 U.S.C. §§ 4601 et seq. and implemented through 49 C.F.R. part 24, as amended. The county will provide benefits and relocation assistance to all persons and businesses involuntarily and permanently displaced by the Community Development Block Grant activity funded by the state in accordance with Appendix I of the grant documents; provided they do not receive benefits as part of such action under this division (I)(4).
(5) A copy of this division (I) shall be forwarded by the County Auditor to the State Department of Commerce.
(Ord. 85-1, passed 2-4-1985; Ord. 85-2, passed 3-4-1985; Ord. 85-3, passed 4-17-1985; Ord. 1995-5, passed 4-18-1995; Ord. 2005-X, passed 3-15-2005)