[HISTORY: Adopted by the Municipal Council of the City of
Taunton as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 10-4-1994; amended 8-22-1995 (Ch. 6, Art. IX, of the 2010 Code)]
[Amended 7-11-2000; 8-10-2010]
There shall be an Economic Development Incentive (EDI) Board
which shall be comprised of the following:
A.
Mayor of
the City of Taunton.
B.
President
of the Municipal Council or designee.
C.
Chairperson
of the Committee on Economic Development and Technology.
D.
Chairperson
of the Industrial Development Commission.
E.
Economic
Development Director.
F.
City Planner.
G.
Neighborhood
advisory member.
H.
Chairperson
of the Board of Assessors.
I.
Executive
Director of Economic and Community Development.
There shall be six economic opportunity areas (EOAs) consisting
of contiguous areas as defined below and as shown on the maps on file
at the office of the City Clerk:
A.
EOA No.
1, Weir: Portions of census tracts 6139 and 6140 representing the
Weir section of the City running from High and Ingell Streets to Weir
Street along Somerset Avenue to Sixth Street; turn towards the Taunton
River, and back to West Water Street along the Penn Central Railroad.
B.
EOA No.
2, Heart of Taunton: Portions of census tract 6138, the Heart of Taunton
and the downtown area business and office district.
C.
EOA No.
3, Whittenton: Portions of census tracts 6131 and 6136, the Whittenton
Industrial Area and Business District.
D.
EOA No.
4, Industrial Park: Portions of census tract 6132 representing the
expansion property to the Myles Standish Industrial Park, bounded
by the Penn Central Railroad, Fremont Street, Bassett Street, the
Paul A. Dever School campus, and the original Myles Standish Industrial
Park.
E.
EOA No.
5, Arlington Street: Census tract 6137 representing the property which
is bounded by Arlington Street, the Penn Central Railroad, and the
Bennett Street Extension.
F.
EOA No.
6, Cape Dory: Portions of census tract 6141 representing the East
Taunton area, including the Cape Dory property on Middleboro Avenue
and the business district.
Tax increment financing (TIF) zones shall be located within
the proposed economic opportunity areas and shall include those portions
of the respective census tracts which are zoned for industrial/commercial/general
business and neighborhood business purposes. There shall be six TIF
zones corresponding to the six economic opportunity areas as defined
above.
[Amended 7-11-2000]
A.
Each project that seeks designation as a certified project by the
municipality shall file an application with the Mayor. Upon receipt
of said certified project application the Mayor shall inform the Municipal
Council of said application.
C.
Each project shall be reviewed, negotiated, and considered for approval
and executed by the EDI Board. When agreements are approved, determination
shall be made as to whether tax increment financing or the special
tax assessment is more appropriate.
D.
The Municipal Council shall have the power to ratify all certified
project applications and corresponding TIF plans and agreements or
special tax assessment agreements after said applications, plans,
and agreements have been approved by the EDI Board.
E.
Upon Municipal Council ratification, the City shall forward said
application with corresponding plan and agreement to the Economic
Assistance Coordinating Council (EACC) to be considered for approval
in accordance with MGL c. 23A, § 3B, and the regulations
adopted pursuant thereto.
Specific public projects that are required to facilitate further
economic development and that would be financed through cost betterments
and special assessments shall be incorporated into TIF plans and agreements
as each is negotiated.
[Amended 7-11-2000]
It is the intent of the Municipal Council to authorize tax increment
exemptions from property tax on a project-by-project basis.
A.
Term. Under no circumstances shall the term of any specific agreement
exceed 20 years in duration.
C.
The exemption shall be limited to the incremental new tax value of
the property that is approved as part of a certified project.
D.
Effective date. The exemption shall become effective on July 1 following
the date on which the EACC approves the TIF plan and agreement.
E.
All tax increment financing agreements shall be binding upon subsequent
owners of such parcel of real property until the expiration of said
TIF agreement. Parties to such agreements shall notify the City and
the EACC in writing of any ownership changes. The EDI Board shall
forward to the Board of Assessors a copy of each executed TIF or special
tax assessment agreement together with a list of parcels included
therein.
The Municipal Council reserves the right to establish a maximum
percentage of the cost of any public project that shall be recovered
through betterments or special assessments against one parcel with
respect to which a TIF agreement is executed. In addition, the Municipal
Council shall determine on a project-by-project basis the need for
or the appropriateness of either special assessment or TIF financing.
Tax increment financing in accordance with the TIF plan and
agreement shall become effective upon approval by the Economic Assistance
Coordinating Council established by MGL c. 23A, § 3B, and
the regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
[Amended 7-11-2000]
Each certified project shall submit an annual report to the
EDI Board no later than July 31 of each calendar year. Upon receipt
of said annual report, the EDI Board shall submit a copy of said report
to the Municipal Council and the EACC.
[Amended 7-11-2000]
A.
The Municipal Council may at any time petition the EACC to revoke
its designation of a certified project and corresponding TIF zone,
TIF plan or agreement, or special tax assessment agreement.
B.
The EDI Board shall review annually the status of each TIF agreement
or special tax assessment agreement to determine compliance with the
terms and conditions of each certified project. The EDI Board shall
recommend that the Municipal Council petition the EACC to revoke any
and all incentives for projects that are determined to be out of compliance
with the TIF agreement or special tax assessment agreement after reasonable
efforts to remedy the compliance deficiency.
C.
The EDI Board shall forward to the Board of Assessors a copy of each
TIF agreement or special tax assessment agreement revocation.
[Amended 7-11-2000]
A.
The EDI Board shall be authorized to negotiate and, upon ratification
by the majority vote of the Municipal Council, execute TIF or special
tax assessment agreements, and on a case-by-case basis in which the
EDI Board considers the overall economic impact of each project to
the City and the number of jobs created or retained for Taunton economic
target area (ETA) residents, in accordance with the following guidelines
for terms and conditions:
(1)
Tax
incentives, betterments, or special assessments, and tax increment
financing or the special tax assessment up to the maximum allowable
within the enabling legislation for certified projects which commit
to hiring a high percentage of Taunton ETA residents.
(2)
Tax
incentives, betterments, or special assessments, and tax increment
financing or the special tax on a proportional basis equivalent to
the commitment by certified projects to hire Taunton ETA residents
in the jobs to be created.
B.
This action shall be subject to final approval by the EACC.
[Added 8-10-2010]
A.
The Economic Development Incentive Board shall establish regulations
which establish the criteria that shall govern any project that has
been submitted to it for review. On a yearly basis, the Economic Development
Incentive Board shall submit the regulations to the Municipal Council
and Mayor for review.
B.
The City's Department of Economic and Community Development shall
be designated as the agency responsible for monitoring the Economic
Development Incentive Program, including job creation, job training,
capital investment and community benefit on each approved tax increment
financing and special tax assessment project, and shall also report
to the Mayor's office and the Municipal Council on a yearly basis,
including decertifications.[1]
[Adopted 6-17-2003 (Ch. 16, Art. V, of the 2010 Code)]
A.
This article is hereby established upon acceptance by the City of
Taunton Municipal Council pursuant to MGL c. 59, § 59A.
B.
The Mayor, subject to the final approval of the Municipal Council,
is hereby authorized pursuant to provisions of MGL c. 59, § 59A,
to designate the City Solicitor to negotiate agreements regarding
the payment of outstanding real estate taxes, interest and penalties,
including abatements of those amounts determined by the City to be
needed by the property owner to clean up and redevelop property contaminated
within the meaning of MGL c. 21E.
C.
Said agreement shall include, but not be limited to, the amount outstanding,
the percent of interest to accrue if determined applicable by the
City and the property owner, the description of quantifiable monthly
payments, the inception date of such payments, the date of final payment,
late penalties, and other contractual obligations arranged between
the City and the property owner, and the agreement may contain additional
incentives, financial and otherwise, as may be deemed appropriate
to facilitate the development of eligible sites.
Any agreement negotiated pursuant to § 239-13 must be approved by the Municipal Council, after consultation with the Board of Assessors, and signed by the property owner, the City Solicitor and the Mayor and the same shall be notarized and attested to by the City Clerk.
Said agreements must deal with property or portion of the property
from or at which there has been a release of oil and other hazardous
material(s) and said property is zoned for commercial or industrial
use.
An agreement may be entered into only with a property owner
who did not own the property or portion thereof at the time the oil
or other hazardous material(s) was released and said owner did not
cause or contribute to its release.
A.
An agreement, in addition to the requirements of § 239-13, shall include a detailed statement, and evidence supporting the same, that there exists adequate financing to accomplish the cleanup of the oil or other hazardous material(s) contaminating the property or portion thereof and that the reduction in outstanding taxes, interest and/or penalty is reasonably necessary in order to complete the cleanup of said contamination.
B.
Any proposed agreement not complying with the above requirement shall
not be approved by the Municipal Council.
A copy of any agreement executed as required in § 239-14 shall be provided to the following:
All validly executed agreements shall take effect upon filing
of the above copies.
