§ 5404a - Tax stabilization agreements; tax increment financing districts - Vermont Statutes

§ 5404a. Tax stabilization agreements; tax increment financing districts

(a) Tax agreements and exemptions affecting the education property tax grand list. A tax agreement or exemption shall affect the education property tax grand list of the municipality in which the property subject to the agreement is located if the agreement or exemption is:

(1) a prior agreement, meaning that it was:

(A) a tax stabilization agreement for any purpose authorized under 24 V.S.A. § 2741 or comparable municipal charter provisions entered into or proposed and voted by the municipality before July 1, 1997, or a property tax exemption adopted by vote pursuant to chapter 125 of Title 32 or comparable municipal charter provisions before July 1, 1997; or

(B) an agreement relating to property sold or transferred by the New England Power Company of its Connecticut River system and its facilities along the Deerfield River which was warned before September 1, 1997; or

(2) a tax stabilization agreement relating to industrial or commercial property entered into under 24 V.S.A. § 2741, or comparable municipal charter provisions or an exemption for the purposes of economic development adopted by vote under sections 3834 (factories; quarries; mines), 3836 (private homes and dwellings), 3837 (airports), or 3838 (hotels) of Title 32 or comparable municipal charter provisions after June 30, 1997 if subsequently approved by the Vermont economic progress council pursuant to this subsection and section 5930a of this title. An agreement or exemption may be approved by the Vermont economic progress council only if it has first been approved by the municipality in which the property is located with respect to the municipal tax liability of the property in that municipality. Any agreement or exemption approved by the Vermont economic progress council may not affect the education tax liability of the property in a greater proportion than the agreement or exemption affects the municipal tax liability of the property. A municipality's approval of an agreement or exemption under this subsection may be made conditional upon approval of the agreement or exemption by the Vermont economic progress council. The legislative body of the municipality in which the property subject to the agreement or exemption is located or the business that is subject to the agreement or exemption may request the Vermont economic progress council to approve an agreement or exemption pursuant to section 5930a of this title. The council shall also report to the general assembly on the terms of the agreement or exemption, and the effect of the agreement or exemption on the education property tax grand list of the municipality and of the state. If so approved by the council, an agreement or exemption shall be effective to reduce the property tax liability of the municipality under this chapter beginning April 1 of the year following approval.

(3) an agreement relating to affordable housing, which may be submitted to the council for its approval under subdivision (2) of this subsection, or alternatively may be approved under this subdivision by the commissioner of taxes upon recommendation of the commissioner of housing and community affairs provided the agreement provides either for new construction housing projects or rehabilitated preexisting housing projects and secures federal financial participation which may include projects financed with federal low income housing tax credits.

(4) an exemption of property owned by a nonprofit volunteer fire, rescue or ambulance organization and used for the purposes of the organization, adopted, extended or renewed by vote of a municipality under chapter 125 of this title or comparable municipal charter provision after July 1, 1997.

(5) an exemption of property owned by a municipality situated in another municipality, which has been exempted from municipal property taxes by vote of the municipality in which the property is situated, and which is used for municipal forest lands, municipal water supply, or for other noncommercial municipal purposes. To be exempted under this subsection, the property must have been voted an exemption by the municipality before January 1, 1998, and such exemption may be extended or renewed thereafter by a similar vote of the municipality.

(6) an exemption of a portion of the value of a qualified rental unit parcel. An owner of a qualified rental unit parcel shall be entitled to an exemption on the education property tax grand list of 10 percent of the grand list value of the parcel, multiplied by the ratio of square footage of improvements used for or related to residential rental purposes to total square footage of all improvements, multiplied by the ratio of qualified rental units to total residential rental units on the parcel. "Qualified rental units" means residential rental units which are subject to rent restriction under provisions of state or federal law, but excluding units subject to rent restrictions under only one of the following programs: Section 8 moderate rehabilitation, Section 8 housing choice vouchers, or Section 236 or Section 515 rural development rental housing. A municipality shall allow the percentage exemption under this subsection upon presentation by the taxpayer to the municipality, by April 1, of a certificate of education grand list value exemption, obtained from the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA). VHFA shall issue a certificate of exemption upon presentation by the taxpayer of information which VHFA and the commissioner shall require. An exemption granted by a municipality under this subsection shall expire upon transfer of the building, upon expiration of the rent restriction, or after 10 years, whichever first occurs.

(b) An agreement affecting the education property tax grand list defined under subsection (a) of this section shall reduce the municipality's education property tax liability under this chapter for the duration of the agreement or exemption without extension or renewal, and for a maximum of 10 years, subject to the provisions of subsection 5930b(f) of this title. A municipality's property tax liability under this chapter shall be reduced by any difference between the amount of the education property taxes collected on the subject property and the amount of education property taxes that would have been collected on such property if its fair market value were taxed at the equalized nonresidential rate for the tax year.

(c) Tax agreements not affecting the education property tax grand list. A tax agreement shall not affect the education property tax grand list if it is:

(1) A tax exemption adopted by vote of a municipality after July 1, 1997 under chapter 125 of this title, or voted under a comparable municipal charter provision or other provision of law for property owned by nonprofit organizations used for public, pious or charitable purposes, other than economic development exemptions voted under sections 3834, 3836, 3837, or 3838 of this title and approved by the Vermont economic progress council, or exemptions of property of a nonprofit volunteer fire, rescue or ambulance organization adopted by vote of a municipality.

(2) A tax stabilization agreement relating to agricultural property, forest land, open space land or alternate energy generating plants entered into after July 1, 1997 by a municipality under section 2741 of Title 24.

(3) A tax stabilization agreement relating to commercial or industrial property entered into after July 1, 1997 by a municipality under section 2741 of Title 24, or a property tax exemption for purposes of economic development adopted by vote after July 1, 1997, which has not been approved by the Vermont economic progress council to affect the education grand list under subsection (a)(2) of this section and section 5930a of this title. In granting tax stabilization agreements for commercial or industrial property under section 2741 of Title 24, a municipality shall consider any applicable guidelines established for the approval of such stabilization agreements by the Vermont economic progress council established in section 5930a(c) of this title.

(4) Notwithstanding section 6306 of Title 10, a transfer of the development rights to real property under chapter 155 of Title 10 which is less than a permanent transfer of those rights, or is a lease of those rights for a fixed period, entered into on or after January 1, 1998, and a transfer or lease of such rights executed prior to January 1, 1998 upon the expiration of the period of the transfer or lease not to exceed five years.

(d) Tax agreements not affecting the education property tax grand list as defined in subsection (c) of this section shall not reduce the total education property tax liability of the municipality to the state under this chapter. However, such agreements shall reduce the education property tax liability of the owner of the property subject to the agreement to the extent provided in the agreement. A municipality shall assess a tax on its municipal grand list at a rate sufficient to raise an amount equal to the difference between the municipality's total education property tax liability to the state under this chapter and the amount collected from education property taxes in the municipality after reductions for all tax agreements in effect in the municipality as defined in subsection (c) of this section. Any such tax assessed under this section shall be identified on the tax bill of the municipality as a separate tax for municipally voted tax agreements.

(e) [Repealed.]

(f) A municipality that establishes a tax increment financing district under subchapter 5 of chapter 53 of Title 24 shall collect all property taxes on properties contained within the district and apply up to 75 percent of the tax increment as defined in 24 V.S.A. § 1896 to repayment of financing of the improvements and related costs for up to 20 years pursuant to 24 V.S.A. § 1894, if approved by the Vermont economic progress council pursuant to this section.

(g) Any utilization of tax increment approved under subsection (f) of this section shall be in addition to any other payments to the municipality under chapter 133 of Title 16. Tax increment utilizations approved pursuant to subsection (f) of this section shall affect the education property tax grand list and the municipal grand list of the municipality under this chapter beginning April 1 of the year following approval and shall remain available to the municipality for the full period authorized under 24 V.S.A. § 1894, and restricted only to the extent that the real property development giving rise to the increased value to the grand list fails to occur within the authorized period.

(h) Criteria for approval. To approve utilization of incremental revenues pursuant to subsection (f) of this section, the Vermont economic progress council shall do all the following:

(1) Review each application to determine that the new real property development would not have occurred or would have occurred in a significantly different and less desirable manner but for the proposed utilization of the incremental tax revenues. A district created in a designated growth center under 24 V.S.A. § 2793c shall be deemed to have complied with this subdivision. The review shall take into account:

(A) The amount of additional time, if any, needed to complete the proposed development within the tax increment district and the amount of additional cost that might be incurred if the project were to proceed without education property tax increment financing.

(B) How the proposed development components and size would differ, if at all, without education property tax increment financing.

(C) The amount of additional revenue expected to be generated as a result of the proposed development; the percentage of that revenue that shall be paid to the education fund; the percentage that shall be paid to the municipality; and the percentage of the revenue paid to the municipality that shall be used to pay financing incurred for development of the tax increment financing district.

(2) Process requirements. Determine that each application meets all of the following four requirements:

(A) The municipality held public hearings and established a tax increment financing district in accordance with 24 V.S.A. §§ 1891-1900.

(B) The municipality has developed a tax increment financing district plan, including: a project description; a development financing plan; a pro forma projection of expected costs; a projection of revenues; a statement and demonstration that the project would not proceed without the allocation of a tax increment; evidence that the municipality is actively seeking or has obtained other sources of funding and investment; and a development schedule that includes a list, a cost estimate, and a schedule for public improvements and projected private development to occur as a result of the improvements.

(C) The municipality has approved or pledged the utilization of incremental municipal tax revenues for purposes of the district in the same proportion as the utilization of education property tax revenues approved by the Vermont economic progress council for the tax increment financing district.

(D) The proposed infrastructure improvements and the projected development or redevelopment are compatible with approved municipal and regional development plans, and the project has clear local and regional significance for employment, housing, and transportation improvements.

(3) Location criteria. Determine that each application meets one of the following criteria:

(A) The development or redevelopment is compact, high density, and located in or near existing industrial areas.

(B) The proposed district is within an approved growth center, designated downtown, designated village center, or new town center.

(C) The development will occur in an area that is economically distressed, which for the purposes of this subdivision means that the area has experienced patterns of increasing unemployment, a drop in average wages, or a decline in real property values.

(D) [Repealed.]

(4) Project criteria. Determine that the proposed development within a tax increment financing district will accomplish at least three of the following five criteria:

(A) The development within the tax increment financing district clearly requires substantial public investment over and above the normal municipal operating or bonded debt expenditures.

(B) The development includes new housing that is affordable to the majority of the residents living within the municipality and is developed at a higher density than at the time of application. "Affordable" has the same meaning as in 10 V.S.A. § 6001(29).

(C) The project will affect the remediation and redevelopment of a brownfield located within the district. For the purposes of this section, "brownfield" means an area in which a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant is or may be present, and that situation is likely to complicate the expansion, development, redevelopment, or reuse of the property.

(D) The development will include at least one entirely new business or business operation or expansion of an existing business within the district, and this business will provide new, quality, full-time jobs that meet or exceed the prevailing wage for the region as reported by the department of labor.

(E) The development will enhance transportation by creating improved traffic patterns and flow or creating or improving public transportation systems.

(i) The Vermont economic progress council and the department of taxes shall make an annual report to the senate committee on economic development, housing and general affairs, the senate committee on finance, the house committee on commerce and the house committee on ways and means of the general assembly on or before January 15. The report shall include, in regard to each existing tax increment financing district, the year of approval, the scope of the planned improvements and development, the equalized education grand list value of the district prior to the TIF approval, the original taxable property, the tax increment, and the annual amount of tax increments utilized.

(j) The municipality shall provide the council with all information related to the proposed financing necessary to assure its consistency with the plan approved pursuant to all other provisions of subsection (h) of this section. The council shall assure the viability and reasonableness of any proposed financing other than bonding and least-cost financing.

(k) The Vermont economic incentive review board may require a third-party financial and technical analysis as part of the application of a municipality applying for approval of a tax increment financing district pursuant to this section. The applicant municipality shall pay a fee to cover the actual cost of the analysis to be deposited in a special fund which shall be managed pursuant to subchapter 5 of chapter 7 of this title and be available to the board to pay the actual cost of the analysis.

(l) The state auditor of accounts shall review and audit all active tax increment financing districts every three years. (Added 1997, No. 60, § 45, eff. Jan. 1, 1998; amended 1997, No. 71 (Adj. Sess.), § 47, eff. March 11, 1998; 2003, No. 76 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. Jan. 1, 2004; 2003, No. 163 (Adj. Sess.), § 33, eff. Jan. 1, 2004; 2005, No. 184 (Adj. Sess.), § 2h; 2007, No. 81, §§ 12, 13, eff. June 11, 2007; 2007, No. 190 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 61, 63, 64; 2009, No. 47, § 6, eff. May 28, 2009.)