The Council, in accordance with I.C. 6-1.1-12.1 et seq., shall make available the opportunity to receive real estate and personal property tax abatement to qualifying applicants/taxpayers located within the corporate limits of the city, using the procedures established by this chapter.
(A) The Economic Development Division staff of the Allen County Department of Planning Services shall provide a formal application and Statement of Benefits (SB-1) form(s) to interested parties.
(1) A proper deduction applicant/taxpayer shall initiate the process by filing a completed and signed application, along with a completed and signed Statement of Benefits (SB-1) form/s, with Economic Development staff.
(2) The application shall be accompanied by the established filing fee:
(a) Five hundred dollars ($500) for real or personal property deduction;
(b) Seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) for both real and personal property deduction; and
(c) Five hundred dollars ($500) for vacant building deduction only.
(3) Upon receipt of an application, the Economic Development staff shall:
(a) Note the date of filing on the application;
(b) Review it, and the Statement of Benefits (SB-1) form(s), for completeness;
(c) Provide the Council with appropriate maps necessary to identify the area for which the applicant/taxpayer requests an Economic Revitalization Area designation along with a simplified description of its boundaries; and
(d) Provide the applicant/taxpayer written notice of the meeting at which the Council will formally consider the application. The applicant/taxpayer or its representative shall be present at the Council meeting at which the application and Statement of Benefits (SB-1) form(s) is/are considered.
(4) After review of the information provided in the application and Statement of Benefits (SB-1) form(s), by the staff, the applicant/taxpayer and other interested persons, the Council may:
(a) Find that the real estate under consideration meets the definition and standards of an Economic Revitalization Area, as set forth in I.C. 6-1.1-12.1-1(1) and § 151.02. In such instances, the Council may adopt a declaratory resolution stating the same and cause the action set forth in division (A)(5) below to occur. Said declaratory resolution shall include the reasons upon which the determination is made;
(b) Find that there is insufficient information and defer action on the matter. The applicant/taxpayer shall be provided written notice of the reasons for deferral; or
(c) Determine that the real estate should not be designated as an Economic Revitalization Area and provide the applicant/taxpayer written notice thereof.
(5) Upon adoption of a declaratory resolution, the Council shall:
(a) Set the date, time, and location for a public hearing at which the Council will receive and hear all comments, remonstrances and objections from interested persons;
(b) Cause notice of the adoption and substance of the declaratory resolution to be published in accordance with I.C. 6-1.1-12.1-2.5(c) and I.C. 5-3-1. The notice shall state that a description of the affected area is available and can be inspected in the offices of the Allen County Department of Planning Services, the Allen County Assessor, and the City Clerk-Treasurer. The notice shall also state the time, date, and location of the subsequent public hearing on the matter;
(c) Cause a generalized description of the subject real estate to be attached to the declaratory resolution and file the same with the Allen County Assessor and the City Clerk-Treasurer; and
(d) Cause the notice, and a statement containing substantially the same information as the Statement of Benefits (SB-1) form(s) submitted by the applicant/taxpayer, to be filed at least ten days before the date of the public hearing on the matter with each taxing unit that has authority to levy property taxes or fix budgets, tax rates and tax levies within the geographical area where the affected area subject of the declaratory resolution is located.
(6) Upon considering the evidence presented at the public hearing, the Council shall take final action on the request for designation by either confirming, modifying and confirming, or rescinding the subject declaratory resolution. The applicant/taxpayer(s) or its representative shall be present at the public hearing to provide such information as may be needed.
(7) The determination of the confirmatory resolution made pursuant to division (A)(6) above shall be final except that an appeal may be taken as provided in I.C. 6-1.1-12.1-2.5(d) and I.C. 6-1.1-12.1-2.5(e).
(8) Upon confirming, or modifying and confirming, a declaratory resolution by the procedures set forth herein, the Allen County Auditor and the Economic Development Division shall keep a record of the designation of the subject Economic Revitalization Area. The Economic Development Division staff shall provide the Allen County Auditor with a final designation packet to be utilized in the review of applications for deduction pursuant to I.C. 6-1.1-12.1-5, I.C. 6-1.1-12.1-5-4.8, and I.C. 6-1.1-12.1-5.4.
(B) (1) The Economic Development Division staff of the Allen County Department of Planning Services shall not review applications for Economic Revitalization Area status for any of the facility types noted below, whether or not said facility is located within an Economic Development Target Area:
(a) Massage parlor;
(b) Hot tub facility;
(c) Racetrack;
(d) Tobacco store or facility where tobacco or tobacco products comprise the majority (greater than 50%) of sales;
(e) Arcade facility or facility with primarily arcade games;
(f) Sales, warehousing, distribution or servicing facility where guns or other types of weaponry and/or ammunition of any type comprise the majority (greater than 50%) of sales, whether or not used for purposes of sport;
(g) Pawn shop; and
(h) Package liquor store that holds a liquor dealer's permit under I.C. 7.1-3-10 or any other entity required to operate under a license issued under I.C. 7.1 et seq.
(2) Notwithstanding the foregoing restrictions in division (B)(1) above, an applicant/taxpayer may submit an application for Economic Revitalization Area designation, for personal property deduction only, for entities operating wholesale operations under a license issued under I.C. 7.1-3-3, I.C. 7.7-3-8, or I.C. 7.1-3-13; provided, however, that an applicant/taxpayer applying for a personal property deduction noted herein shall not be eligible to make said application or have said application approved if the applicant/taxpayer is also licensed to do business under any other section contained in I.C. 7.1 et seq.
(C) Applications will be evaluated and the information provided within will be applied toward the point system to determine the recommended length of the abatement. Unless otherwise provided in, or limited by, divisions (D), (F), (H), (I) and (J) below or as otherwise provided by this chapter, abatements can be granted for a period of three, five, seven or ten years for both real and personal property as determined by the point system.
(D) For applications that include personal property, the applicant/taxpayer shall provide the expected life of each asset (piece of equipment) for depreciation purposes. The abatement period for personal property may be limited to a term that is less than the depreciable life of the asset.
(E) For applications that include new manufacturing equipment, as defined in I.C. 6-1.1-12.1-1(3), the applicant/taxpayer shall indicate whether "special tools" (as defined by 50 I.A.C. (Department of Local Government Finance), Article 4.2, Assessment of Tangible Personal Property) are included in the new manufacturing equipment. Special tooling may be limited to a one-year abatement term.
(F) (1) For applicants/taxpayers indicating that there is a retail component to their facility, they must also indicate, by percentage of overall business, to what extent the facility contains retail activities.
(a) Anything less than 10% shall be considered a de minimis amount, while any amount above 50% will make any application for the redevelopment or rehabilitation of real estate ineligible for abatement, unless located within a designated Economic Development Target Area designated by the Council by ordinance pursuant to I.C. 6-1.1-12.1-7 and not defined as ineligible under I.C. 6-l.l-12.1-3(e).
(b) For retail percentages between 10% and 50%, only the non-retail percentage of the total investment shall be included in the abatement deduction amount.
(2) Notwithstanding the foregoing, when a facility is located within a designated Economic Development Target Area and not defined ineligible under I.C. 6-1.1-12.1-3(e), then a ten year deduction may be granted without adhering to the point system.
(G) (1) For applicants/taxpayers that are service-based businesses, the following criteria must be met to be eligible for abatement:
(a) More than 25% of the customer base for the service-based business is located outside of Allen County, Indiana or more than 25% of the annual gross revenue of the service-based business is generated by customers located outside of Allen County; or
(b) The amount of the investment for which the abatement is being sought by the applicant/taxpayer is $5,000,000 or more.
(2) For purposes of this division, a
SERVICE-BASED BUSINESS means a commercial enterprise that derives more than 50% of its annual gross revenue directly from labor performed in an expert manner by an individual or team for the benefit of its customers/clients as opposed to the sale of tangible goods and/or products. The definition includes, without limitation, businesses such as law firms, accounting firms, consulting firms, financial services firms, insurance agencies, marketing/advertising agencies, and medical and dental practices. The definition does not include retail establishments, the eligibility of which is determined under I.C. 6-1.1-12.1-3(e).
(H) Applicants/taxpayers for a deduction involving the redevelopment or rehabilitation of a speculative building may receive a ten-year phased deduction without adhering to the point system. For purposes of this division, a "speculative building" means a building development, construction, or rehabilitation of at least 50,000 square feet that is reasonably likely to create new jobs when the developer has no formal commitment from a buyer or tenant to purchase or lease the end product, whether the end product is a fully completed, move-in ready building or a partially completed shell suitable for build-out improvements by the future owner or tenant. Additional incentives for the final build out and personal property (equipment) may be considered upon the identification of the end user. Any additional incentives will adhere to the point system for real and personal property abatement at the time of submittal.
(I) (1) The owner of an eligible vacant building, as defined in I.C. 6-1.1-12.1-1(17), is entitled to a deduction from the assessed value of the building if the applicant/taxpayer or tenant of the applicant/taxpayer occupies the eligible vacant building and uses it for commercial or industrial purposes.
(2) An applicant/taxpayer is entitled to the deduction for no more than two years with the deduction schedule as follows:
(a) Year 1 = 100% deduction; and
(b) Year 2 = 50% deduction.
(J) (1) The criteria for a 20 year personal property deduction are as follows:
(a) The applicant/taxpayer will create at least 1,000 new jobs within two years of submitting its application;
(b) The applicant/taxpayer will invest at least $500,000,000 in eligible personal property; and
(c) The amount of income taxes generated by the new jobs will be equal to or exceed the value of the deduction after ten years.
(2) Per I.C. 6-1.1-12.1-18(e), the Council will hold a public hearing for any abatement schedule that exceeds ten years to review the applicant/taxpayer's compliance with Statement of Benefits (Form CF-1) after the tenth year.
(3) The deduction schedule for a 20 year deduction is as follows:
Year | Percentage |
Year | Percentage |
1 | 100% |
2 | 95% |
3 | 90% |
4 | 85% |
5 | 80% |
6 | 75% |
7 | 70% |
8 | 65% |
9 | 60% |
10 | 55% |
11 | 50% |
12 | 45% |
13 | 40% |
14 | 35% |
15 | 30% |
16 | 25% |
17 | 20% |
18 | 15% |
19 | 10% |
20 | 5% |
(Ord. 19-1373, passed 9-3-19)