A person seeking declaration of an area as an economic revitalization area shall file a statement of benefits (for redevelopment or rehabilitation of property, new manufacturing equipment and/or new research and development equipment) and an application with the Department of Economic Development on the form or forms which may be prescribed by the Department of Economic Development, County Council and/or the State Board of Tax Commissioners. The application must be filed with the Department of Economic Development (Department), prior to commencement of the project or the ordering of any equipment.
COMMENCEMENT OF THE PROJECT shall mean prior to the issuance of a building permit for real estate improvements. ORDERING EQUIPMENT shall mean issuance of the purchase order for equipment or other commitment to purchase or obtain the equipment by the applicant.
(A) Submission requirements. The application shall be submitted in a quantity as may be specified by the Department. For projects seeking tax phase-in for real estate improvements, a site plan shall also be submitted, which shows all buildings, parking areas, driveways, etc.
(B) Resolution requirements. The Department shall prepare the preliminary and confirming resolutions for each tax phase-in project. The resolutions shall include the information required by I.C. 6-1.1-12.1 et seq., including the legal description or other suitable description of the property being designated as an economic revitalization area; the length of time during which the economic revitalization area designation shall be in effect (generally to include two complete tax years and ending on March 1); whether the designation is for real estate improvements, new manufacturing equipment or new research and development equipment; and the length of deduction.
(C) Staff review. The Department shall review each application for completeness and accuracy, gather and provide additional information needed by the County Council to make an appropriate decision, analyze the application and supplemental material and comment generally on the acceptability of the request for economic revitalization area declaration. The Department shall assess the impact of phase-in on the feasibility of the project. The Department shall score the application based on the applicable tax phase-in scoring established and attached as Exhibit A to Board of County Commissioners Resolution 2006-07. This score will be used only as a guide by County Council to determine a maximum allowable phase-in term. The Department and the County Council shall review the scoring system at least annually.
(D) Recommendation of Economic Development Advisory Council. Before an application and resolution is submitted to the County Council, the Department shall present application and scoring to the Economic Development Advisory Council for its review and recommendation.
(E) It is highly recommended that a representative for the project and/or legal counsel be present and prepared to speak about the proposed project at each County Council and Economic Development Advisory Council meetings where the request for tax phase-in for the project is on the agenda.
(CC Res. 2006-07, passed 5-4-06)