Lincoln County, Colorado
Economic Development Incentive Policy
Purpose
This Economic Development Incentive Policy is
adopted to provide incentives for the expansion of existing businesses within
Lincoln County Colorado and to encourage the location of new businesses within
the County, thereby stimulating the local economy by providing additional
employment opportunities and expanding the tax base required to provide County
services. This Policy does not commit the
County to providing economic incentives in every instance, nor does it restrict
the County from providing additional incentives in a specific instance. The
Policy contains specific criteria, guidelines and procedures necessary to
effectively and fairly administer economic development incentives.
Economic Development Incentives shall be available
to any new or expanding business that meets the following criteria:
·
Business
must create a minimum of 5 new full time jobs or have an increase
of 10% (but not less than 1 new full-time employee) over the base number of
persons employed at the facility; and
·
Average
annual wages paid to full-time employees shall be equal to or greater than
county average individual wage by industry (as documented by Colorado
Department of Labor and Employment).
·
Business
must invest at least $250,000 in the facility, or an investment of an amount
less than $250,000 will qualify if such investment is at least equal to
one-third of the market value of the existing facility located within the
County limits.
Incentive Agreements are
limited to four (4) consecutive years. Lincoln County may include in
Incentive Agreements the requirement that a business remain in Lincoln County
for a specific period beyond the incentive period or repayment of incentives
will be required. Companies that
continue to expand may re-apply for new Incentive Agreements. For expansions,
incentives are calculated based on the amount of each new investment. New or expanding businesses that meet the
Eligibility Criteria may apply for the following incentives.
Tax Refunds Based on Capital
Investment:
Sales Percentage of Refund of Taxes Paid
Investment Ranking Index Tax
Real Property Personal
Property
$5 million or more 1 80 80 50
$2.5 million to $5 million 2 70 70 40
$250 thousand to $2.5
million 3 60 60 30
Equal to one third of the 4 50 50 30
market value
The County may negotiate
additional incentives, including:
·
Discounted
Purchase Price for Land owned by the County;
·
Application
for Grants for Infrastructure Improvements (i.e. roads, relocation of
utilities, capacity expansion of existing utilities);
·
Industrial
Revenue Bonds - the County may issue IRBs for a business to finance land
acquisition, the construction of buildings and the purchase of equipment.
Lincoln County shall assume no financial obligation for repayment; the
Applicant must establish that it has the financial resources to repay the
principal and interest over the life of the bonds.
·
Tax
Increment Financing - helps finance the front-end costs of development by
allowing the incremental increase in tax revenues from new development to pay
for the public investments needed to realize the development.
·
Special
Improvement District - to finance and build infrastructure improvements with
provision for repayment with future property taxes.
Prior to submittal of a
formal Application, a business may inquire as to its eligibility for economic
development incentives based on preliminary employment and capital investment
figures. The business shall complete a pre-application form and submit the
information to the County Administrator.
Staff will review the information submitted and respond to the business
regarding apparent eligibility and the potential for incentives under this Policy,
if approved by the Board of County Commissioners. The response from Staff shall in no way represent definitive
findings or be seen as an expression of intent or obligation of the Board of
County Commissioners to favorably consider or approve a formal request for
incentives. The pre-application form
and Staff response shall be deemed to be proprietary business information and
shall be kept confidential.
The County will consider
economic development incentives for businesses that submit a complete
Application and provide such additional information as may be reasonably
requested. The Application shall
include the following information:
·
Name
and address of business, principal owners and officers, contact person,
telephone and fax numbers.
·
A
general description of the nature of the business, business history and
experience.
·
Name
and address of the owner of the land and building occupied or to be occupied by
the business.
·
A
general description of the proposed building project or improvements, including
estimated capital costs.
·
A
site plan of the proposed building project or improvements.
·
If
the Applicant is an existing business, average total monthly employment figures
for the past 12 months.
·
Number
of new jobs (FTE) to be created by type or position and an estimate of wages/earnings
of these jobs.
·
If
tax refunds are being requested, certification from the Zone Administrator of
the East Central Colorado Enterprise Zone that the new business or the
expansion of an existing business would constitute a "new business facility"
in an enterprise zone as defined by C.R.S. 39-22-508.2(3), excluding
subparagraph (b).
·
If
tax refunds are being requested, a written representation by the Applicant that
it will qualify for an income tax credit pursuant to C.R.S. 39-30-105.
·
Statement
of how the proposed business will maintain or enhance the quality of life and
provide social, economic, or cultural benefits to the community.
·
Statement
that the business operation will not detract from the Town’s or the County’s
aesthetic environment (addresses odor, noise, water quality, smoke, heat, glare
vibration, lighting, etc.).
·
Economic
impact analysis conducted by independent party (i.e. Lincoln County Economic
Development Corp.).
· Staff reviews Application for completeness and places the application on the Board of County Commissioners Agenda.
· The Board of County Commissioners reviews the analysis of the costs and benefits and receives comments from the Applicant and the general public at a public meeting. The Board of County Commissioners will take formal action on the Application and, if approved, will direct the preparation of a resolution setting forth the terms of the economic incentive agreement. Final approval shall be in the form of a resolution.
Each incentive agreement shall be subject to an annual review by Staff to determine if the business continues to meet all eligibility criteria and remains in compliance with the terms and conditions of the resolution. The Economic Incentive Agreement may be terminated by the Board of County Commissioners if the business fails to continue to meet the Eligibility Criteria.