(A) Prior resolutions; areas to be designated.
(1) Except insofar as abatements now in effect have been granted under prior ordinance or resolution, or except with respect to areas designated as economic revitalization areas with respect to abatements previously granted, the areas hereafter designated as economic revitalization areas shall be specifically designated.
(2) After approval of any resolution designating an economic revitalization area or approving an application for abatement within an economic revitalization area, the County Council shall publish notice of the adoption and substance of the resolution in accordance with I.C. 5-3-1 and file the following information with each taxing unit in the geographic area where the economic revitalization area is located:
(a) A copy of the notice published under I.C. 5-3-1; and
(b) A statement containing substantially the same information as a statement of benefits filed with the County Council before the hearing required under I.C. 6-1.1-12.1-3 and 6-1.1-12.1-4.5 and divisions (D) and (E) below.
(B) Basic requirements. Each application for economic revitalization area designation must meet the following requirements.
(1) Real property must be in an area which is undesirable for normal development.
(2) The intended use of the property must be allowed by the applicable zoning restrictions. If it is not, the necessary variance, rezoning or approval petition must be on file at the time of the filing of the designation application, and the variation, rezoning or approval petition must be approved before the final hearing on the economic revitalization area resolution shall be conducted.
(3) The application must be made by all owners of the properties or their designated representatives.
(4) For new manufacturing equipment, the application must be submitted prior to the new manufacturing equipment being operated at the facility in which it will be installed.
(5) For new manufacturing equipment, the application must indicate if the new manufacturing equipment is rebuilt or reworked, and if it is replacing other equipment in the facility in which it will be installed. The applicant must confirm that such equipment has not been used previously in the state.
(6) (a) The application must be made prior to filing for a building permit or initiating construction on the project in the case of real property. Exceptions may be allowed by the County Council if substantial evidence is provided by the owner that the obtaining of a building permit or accomplishment of construction was necessitated by emergency circumstances. Examples of possible exceptions would be construction to an existing building to prevent structural failure, repair damage resulting from fire or natural disaster, or to protect a building from the damage effects of weather.
(b) The County Council may approve a supporting document which elaborates upon and provides additional detail relative to the standards set forth in this division (B)(6)(b) and in division (F) below. The supporting document shall have the same force and effect as this section. Additionally, the County Council may elect to periodically modify the standards set forth in the support document. The supporting document may set forth quantitative scales for rating a proposed project with respect to various parameters in several categories, which may include measures of:
1. Total value of the project;
2. Total number of jobs created or retained;
3. Total new or retained payroll;
4. Employee benefits including health insurance, pension and profit-sharing plans, and other benefits;
5. Overall job quality;
6. Project impact on county infrastructure, including roads, water and sewage;
7. Project impact on schools;
8. Added costs to county government generally caused by the project; or
9. Other factors.
(c) The rating scales and their application to a particular project shall be developed and approved by the County Council. Ratings derived under the quantitative scales may be used by the County Council as factors for its consideration in evaluating a project application, but in no event will any rating result be determinative of the decision of the County Council. Determinations are to be made within the description of the County Council based on the overall merit of a particular project viewed in the context of the development and other needs of the county.
(C) Additional criteria. In addition to the requirements prescribed by I.C. 6-1.1-12.1, the County Council shall consider the following general criteria in evaluating a proposed project:
(1) With respect to jobs:
(a) How many jobs will be created or retained by the project?
(b) How do pay and benefits for these jobs compare with current pay and benefits in comparable businesses in the county and the surrounding area?
(c) Are the jobs to be offered of a type that county residents would desire and/or qualify for?
(d) Does the business proposing the project have a record as a good employer in the state and elsewhere?
(e) What is the potential for expansion of the project to provide more jobs?
(f) Will the project’s presence in the county attract related industry jobs to the county or result in the increase of jobs by existing county employers?
(2) With respect to overall growth of business in the county:
(a) What are the scope, size and nature of the project?
(b) Will the project expand in later phases and/or attract additional development?
(c) Does the project meet a need for development in the county that is not being met by existing business?
(d) Will the project improve a blighted area or alleviate site-problems, such as environmental contamination?
(3) With respect to the overall impact of the project:
(a) What impact will the project have on the infrastructure needs of the county, such as roads, water, sewage and the like, and how will the cost and non-monetary burdens resulting from the impact be met?
(b) What government services will the project require?
(c) What will be the effect on the local schools, and how does the benefit of increased taxation from the project compare with any increased costs to the school districts affected?
(d) Is the project environmentally friendly or does it pose a significant risk of any adverse environmental impacts?
(e) Is the project a type of activity that is compatible with the general quality of life for county residents?
(D) Review of applications. The County Council may require applicants to provide financial information including, without limitation, financial statements, balance sheets and particularly in the case of new enterprises with limited historic financial information, a business plan. All financial information provided to the County Council shall be confidential and may not be disclosed other than to members of the County Council, the County Auditor and the County Council Attorney. The County Council and the applicant may enter into an appropriate confidentiality agreement with respect to financial information submitted in connection with an application.
(E) Designation determined by confirming resolution. The economic revitalization area designation for a project will be conditioned in such manner that it will be effective only relative to the project, which is described in the confirming resolution, as supplemented by information in the application, site plans and elevations.
(F) Letter of commitment.
(1) The County Council shall require the applicants for economic revitalization area designation submit a letter of commitment with the county following adoption of a preliminary resolution. The letter of commitment shall contain the capital investment levels, job creation and/or retention levels, and hourly wage rates the applicant has committed to the county in order to receive consideration for economic revitalization area designation. The letter of commitment shall be submitted to the county before confirming resolution and any tax abatement are approved.
(2) Additionally, the letter of commitment shall indicate that the county, by and through the County Council, reserves the right to terminate an economic revitalization area designation and the associated real and personal property tax abatement deductions, if it determines that the applicant has not made reasonable efforts to substantially comply with all of the commitments, and the applicant’s failure to substantially comply with the commitment was not due to factors beyond its control.
(3) If the county terminates the economic revitalization area designation and associated tax abatement deductions, it may require the applicant to repay the county all or a portion of the tax abatement savings received through the date of such termination. Additional details relative to the re-payment of tax abatement savings may be required to be in the letter of commitment.
(G) Compliance review. Under the authority of I.C. 6-1.1-12.1-5.1(b), the County Council will review project receiving economic revitalization area designations for compliance with the capital investment levels, job creation and/or retention levels, and hourly wage rates or salary levels contained in the designation application, the project description contained in the attachments to the final resolution designating the subject real estate as an economic revitalization area, the approved statement of benefits form, and the signed letter of commitment. Taxpayers receiving abatements or their representatives, may be required to appear before the County Council when their abatements are reviewed by the County Council to respond to questions from and provide information to the County Council with respect to their compliance with the terms and conditions of their abatements. The County Council may reduce the dollar amount of, rescind the deduction in its entirety, or rescind the deduction and require re-payment of all or a portion of the tax abatement savings received by an applicant for failure to make reasonable efforts to substantially comply.
(H) Time limit on designation. Unless otherwise stated in the resolution applicable to a specific project, the economic revitalization area designation shall terminate five years after the date of the final resolution; however, this termination does not limit the length of time a taxpayer is entitled to receive an abatement of property taxes to five years.
(I) Compliance with other laws and zoning. All applicants must comply with other federal, state and local laws in order to be approved, which laws include zoning restrictions and compliance with federal S.A.R.A. Title III, also known as the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, being 40 C.F.R. parts 350 through 372, and I.C. 13-25-1 concerning hazardous substance handling and reporting.
(J) Effective date. This section shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage; however, designation applications dated or filed prior to enactment of this section and receiving abatements thereunder shall be continued to be governed by any resolutions or any requirements contained specifically for the prior abatements in the confining resolution applicable to such project which will take precedence over matters contained herein.
(Council Ord. 2001-08, passed 12-10-2001)