(a) The creation/retention of jobs and new housing is determined to be a critical need and legitimate public purpose of the City of Toledo that supports the tax base and increases the use of Toledo's sanitary sewer services. Toledo shall assist in the creation/retention of jobs and new housing with a portion of sanitary sewer revenues provided that such funds are used only for sanitary sewer purposes as provided by state and local law.
(b) In each calendar year, there shall be set aside from sanitary sewer revenues an amount not to exceed $490,000 which shall be credited to a sanitary sewer infrastructure development fund for the sole purpose of constructing sanitary sewer infrastructure improvements in the public right-of-way or for the payment of sanitary sewer connection fees and costs within the City of Toledo. The funds shall not be available for any engineering or design costs or to reimburse any infrastructure costs that were incurred prior to the City's approval of assistance. Any amounts set aside in the sanitary sewer infrastructure development fund but not spent in the calendar year shall be carried over to and may be expended in the following year.
(Ord. 375-02. Passed 10-8-02.)
(c) Sewer infrastructure development funds shall be available to assist a project that will result in the construction of three or more units of new housing within the City except that non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations may receive funding for single units of new or rehabilitated housing. The funds shall be used to pay for the cost of constructing sanitary sewer lines to the new housing or for the payment of sanitary sewer connection fees and costs. Any sanitary sewer facilities constructed with sanitary sewer infrastructure development funds shall be constructed in the right-of-way and shall be owned by the City. The organization shall be responsible for all lines and connections on private property necessary to bring service to its project.
(d) Sanitary sewer infrastructure development funds shall be available to assist commercial or industrial development projects creating or retaining jobs within the City. The Department of Development shall provide a projection of jobs to be created over a ten-year period by the development project. If the granting of funds under this section would subject the recipient to the living wage provisions contained in Toledo Municipal Code Chapter 187, then the Department of Development shall first certify that the recipient meets the living wage requirements.
(e) Sanitary sewer infrastructure development funds shall be available to assist the City or any political subdivision owning property within the City with sanitary sewer infrastructure improvements or costs. The funds may be expended on projects located either in the public right-of-way or on property owned by the City or the political subdivision.
(f) The agreement with the funding recipient shall specify the actions that may be taken by the City in the event the job creation projections and the living wage requirements are not met including, but not limited to, repayment of infrastructure development funds. The Department of Development shallmonitor the job creation totals and living wage requirements and report the results to City Council at regular intervals. In the event the job creation totals do not meet projections at the end of a five-year period the funding recipient shall repay to the City the proportion of the infrastructure development funds received equaling the percentage by which the number of actual new jobs falls short of the number of projected new jobs. Those projects meeting the job creation projections shall be further reviewed after an additional five-year period to verify that the new jobs are still in existence. A determination that the projected number of new jobs is no longer at the site shall result in the repayment of the proportion of the infrastructure development funds received equaling the percentage by which the number of created jobs still in existence falls short of the number of projected new jobs. Any repayment owed to the City may be collected in the same manner as delinquent sanitary sewer charges. Funds repaid to the City shall be deposited to the credit of the sanitary sewer infrastructure development fund.
(g) Any person or organization seeking funding shall fill out an application detailing the capital investment, job creation/retention and other benefits of the proposed project along with a description of the sanitary sewer facilities to be constructed. If the Departments of Public Utilities, Law and Economic Development endorse the application, legislation shall be submitted to City Council requesting funding approval. Infrastructure constructed under this section shall be available for use by the public without the payment of improvement assessments on the same terms and conditions applicable to other City sanitary sewer facilities.
(Ord. 114-07. Passed 2-27-07.)