(A) It shall be the policy of the Village of Shiloh that any business located within a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district will be entitled to apply for and be considered for a partial refund of real estate taxes based on the level of investment made and overall economic impact that the project will have on the community and conformity with the Village of Shiloh criteria to be considered for a real estate refund.
(B) In determining the level of financial assistance to be provided, the following criteria and factors will be considered:
(1) Projected increase in assessed valuation of the project;
(2) Number of and quality of new jobs to be created or retained;
(3) Amount of other revenue to be derived from the project (i.e. retail sales tax, and the like);
(4) Anticipated growth potential of the business over two years;
(5) Financial strength of the business or developer;
(6) Expertise of the developer or business owners and principals; and
(7) Impact that the business or developer will have on existing similar business within Shiloh (should the Village Board determine that one is necessary, the developer or business shall furnish a feasibility study).
(C) The amount of the refund that a business may qualify for shall further be determined by the various agreements that the village has with the participating taxing bodies (i.e. school districts, St. Clair County, and the like) who have agreed to provide a refund for projects. Furthermore, the refund shall be based upon the amount of unreserved funds within the “special tax allocation fund.”
(D) A business or developer therefore cannot assume the refund of taxes that may be approved by the Village Board. A project must meet the criteria listed herein and receive prior approval of the Village Board.
(E) The Village Board will determine the amount, if any of the refund based upon the overall impact that the proposed business or development will have on the community. For example, a retail business that is expected to be a high sales tax generator will be favorably considered.
(F) It should be noted that residential projects including single-family homes and multi-family developments ARE NOT considered eligible for a properly tax refund. This also includes specialized housing and institutional living quarters (i.e. nursing homes, convalescent homes, group housing, and the like).
(G) The maximum period of a partial real estate tax refund under this program being 15 years.
(H) Criteria. In order for a business to be considered for a real estate tax refund, the following requirements must be met:
(1) Developer or business must include features above those necessary to minimally support their own development or business. As an example, better streets, enhanced streetscapes, providing internal vehicular circulation between tracts, upgrading from rural section to urban section, larger utility provisions, providing additional bikeways/trails, providing additional storm water management, providing increased landscaping, master planning of larger tracts, and the like.
(2) Must be legally established “for profit” business enterprise recognized by the Illinois Department of Revenue and must further be in good financial standing.
(3) Generally, a business or development determined eligible shall include commercial establishments both retail and wholesale, service business including professional offices, industrial firms including manufacturing and warehouse facilities.
(4) Business must be located within a TIF district and in an area suitably zoned for the proposed use.
(5) An existing business as well as new business must demonstrate a minimum investment of $10,000 through improvements including property acquisition, site development, new construction, fixtures and equipment, and the like.
(6) Business that creates or retains permanent (full time equivalent) jobs will receive a higher rating than those that do not.
(7) Project must increase the assessed valuation of the property over and above the current assessed valuation of the property.
(8) Refundable funds can only be used for TIF eligible expenditures as defined within the Tax Increment Allocation Act with documentation of expenses provided before a refund can be made.
(9) Developer or business must show evidence of financial capacity to complete the project. This may entail letter of credit, documented of conventional loans, availability of owner equity, and other financial resources, and the like.
(10) Project must be of a nature in which a permit is required to be obtained through the Village of Shiloh.
(11) Projects that have a Project Labor Agreement, with the Southwestern Illinois Building Trades Council (S.I.B.T.C.) will be given a higher consideration rating.
(12) Projects that purchase construction materials in Shiloh, Illinois will be given a higher consideration rating.
(I) Procedures. In order for a business or development to be considered for a refund of real estate taxes, the following steps and procedures are required to be followed:
(1) Application must be complete and filed with village staff for preliminary review. Incomplete forms will be returned to the applicant with an explanation on what additional information is required.
(2) Application must be supplemented by pertinent documentation (i.e. number of jobs to be created/retained, total amount of investment, site plan, construction schedule, evidence of project financing, and the like).
(3) Complete applications will be submitted, by staff, to the Chairperson of Administration for review and comment.
(4) Within 45 days of staff certifying the application as being complete and filed, the Chairperson of Administration, in consultation with the appropriate staff, and Village Treasurer will submit the application to the Committees at Large Meeting along with a recommendation for consideration.
(5) The committee will review and consider the application and act upon it as promptly as possible. The committee may defer action on any application pending further information required to clearly evaluate the project. It shall be the responsibility of the applicant business or developer to supplement the application with information as may be required by the committee in a timely manner.
(6) The Board Committee shall either approve, deny or amend the application for full or partial tax refund. The decision of the committee shall be made in an open meeting properly held and advertised. The committee shall further provide the applicant with a written response of the actions of the committee on the status of the application.
(7) The committee shall respect the confidentially of financial records of the business as allowed by law.
(8) The recommendation of the committee to provide any refund of real estate taxes must be submitted and approved by a majority vote of the Village Board at a regular Village Board meeting before a refund can be assumed to be approved.
(9) If approved by the Village Board at a regular Village Board meeting, a “letter of commitment” outlining the specific terms and conditions of the refund will be provided to the applicant within 30 days of approval. This is to be followed up with a written “redevelopment agreement.”