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An Ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending and supplementing the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances, Division 4, entitled "Finances," by the creation of a new Article 480 entitled "Tax Increment Financing," in order to establish a uniform process for periodically reviewing the County's Tax Increment Financing activities.
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WHEREAS, the County approves participation in Tax Increment Financing ("TIF") programs several times each year; and
WHEREAS, TIF programs entail the use of a portion of the property tax revenue that would ordinarily be paid on a developed parcel to pay for certain infrastructure improvements to that parcel; and
WHEREAS, in the process of allowing a tax increment to be used in this fashion, the County foregoes revenue that would otherwise be used to pay for County services to all County residents; and
WHEREAS, although the approval of County Council is required for each TIF arrangement, Council does not receive any periodic update regarding the effectiveness or continued utility of previously granted TIFs, nor does Council receive any information regarding the actual impact of any previously granted TIFs on economic development; and
WHEREAS, it is the desire of Council to establish a mechanism for reviewing the effectiveness, utility and continuing desirability of TIF arrangements;
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby enacts as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Allegheny County Code of Ordinances, Division 4, entitled "Finances," is hereby amended by the creation of a new Article 480 entitled "Tax Increment Financing," comprised as follows:
§480-01. Tax Increment Financing Reports.
A. No later than January 31 of each calendar year, the County Manager and Department of Economic Development shall provide County Council with a Tax Increment Financing Report. This report shall specifically delineate each TIF district in effect within Allegheny County at the time the report is issued, and shall provide information on each Tax Increment Financing ("TIF") district including, but not limited to, the following:
1. A general description of the final scope of proposed development(s) within the TIF district;
2. A description of the development accomplished to date within the TIF district;
3. A description of the effect and/or impact of the development to date upon economic development within the County;
4. An estimate of the final effect and/or impact of the development within the TIF district upon economic development generally within the County;
5. The impact of each TIF upon the County's ability to have funds in place to meet its obligations;
6. A delineation of all tax revenues actually collected by the County from property within the TIF district during the TIF arrangement, broken down by year;
7. An estimate of the annual tax revenues that will be realized by the County from property within the TIF district at the conclusion of each year in which the TIF arrangement remains effective;
8. An estimate of the tax revenues that will be realized by the County from property within the TIF district at the conclusion of the TIF arrangement;
9. A delineation of the total tax revenues foregone by the County pursuant to all TIF agreements in place as of the reporting date.
B. In the event that the Tax Increment Financing Report is not provided as required under the terms of §480-01.A., Council shall not approve County participation in any TIF plan nor shall Council approve any legislation authorizing any study of a proposed TIF until such time as the report is provided.
SECTION 2.
If any provision of this Ordinance shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Ordinance which shall be in full force and effect.