TOMPKINS COUNTY
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
Mission, Policies and Procedures
Adopted: July 16, 1992
Revised: December 16, 1993, March 20, 1997, September 16, 1999,
November 16, 2000, September 20, 2001, October 4, 2002, April 2, 2004,
April 6, 2007, July 17, 2007, December 7, 2007, January 16, 2009, December 8, 2009
MISSION
The primary mission of the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) is to offer economic incentives to Tompkins County businesses in order to create and retain quality employment opportunities and strengthen the local tax base. The IDA targets the industrial sector and will only consider other sectors if certain criteria are met.
POLICIES
A. Eligible Projects
In general, the IDA avoids offering incentives to businesses that will compete with or displace existing Tompkins County businesses. It prefers to assist those businesses that have a market for products or services extending beyond Tompkins County including "back office" operations and regional or national headquarters. The IDA will also assist companies selling their product or service in the County when it is clear their primary competition is from outside of the County.
1. Industrial - The IDA targets the industrial sector because of the quality of the jobs this sector creates and because it is unlikely applicants will be competing with other Tompkins County businesses. The IDA defines 'industrial' very broadly to include computer software, agri-business, printing, publishing, and research and development.
2. Retail/Commercial Projects - The IDA will only consider retail/commercial projects under the following conditions:
a. The project is a critical part of a larger, planned development.
b. The project must be endorsed, through a formal resolution, by the appropriate municipal governing body.
c. In addition to these local policies, New York State prohibits retail projects unless some of the following conditions are met; the project:
i. Is considered a tourism destination facility
ii. Is operated by a not-for-profit corporation
iii. Will locate outside of the State without IDA assistance
iv. Is located in a highly distressed area
v. Makes available goods or services not reasonably accessible
vi. Preserves or increases permanent jobs
3. Not-for-Profit Projects - The IDA views its principle role as assisting industrial projects, however New York State law now makes it possible for the IDA to help not-for-profit corporations finance certain facilities through the issuance of bonds. The IDA recognizes not-for-profit corporations as vital to the community, therefore, job creation is not the primary consideration when reviewing these projects. The IDA will only consider not-for-profit projects that meet the conditions of either item “a.” or item “b.”; and the conditions of item “c.” (see below):
a. IDA incentives will assist the applicant deliver services important to the health, well-being or quality-of-life of local residents.
b. The applicant’s operation has important and measurable direct or indirect benefits to the Tompkins County economy in terms of property tax, sales tax and employment. IDA incentives will help support the ability of the applicant to operate in an efficient and productive manner.
c. IDA incentives will not result in an unfair competitive advantage with similar for-profit or not-for-profit operations in the County.
4. IDA Downtown Density Incentive Program (City of Ithaca) – for application process and incentives to be delivered, please refer to the separate policy IDA Downtown Density Incentive Program Policy.
5. Energy-Related Investments: The IDA wishes to encourage local businesses to invest in facilities and equipment that will increase energy efficiency and/or transition to renewable energy sources, reduce operating costs, and lower emissions. The IDA will consider offering sales tax abatement to encourage these types of investments. The IDA will require a completed standard application and a separate statement that includes details on the proposed investment and the resulting reduction in energy use. To be considered, projects should meet NYSERDA or LEED criteria. The successful applicant will not need to report on job creation after completion of the project, but will be expected to report on energy use, comparing pre project and post project data.
B. Fees
The applicant is responsible for paying the IDA Administrative Fee at the time of closing. This fee will be equal to 1% of the total value of expenses that are positively impacted by IDA incentives. This includes the value of construction of improvements to property that is impacted by property and sales tax abatement and the value of furniture, fixtures and equipment that are impacted by sales tax abatement. It will not include any purchases, such as manufacturing equipment, where the IDA does not deliver an incentive. Soft Costs (legal, consulting, financial, architectural and engineering fees) will be included in the amount considered as total value of expenses. The applicant is also responsible for paying the IDA for all legal costs it incurs including IDA Counsel and Bond Counsel fees.
In an attempt to make its incentive program cost effective for smaller projects, the IDA will reimburse the applicant for 100% of the Administrative Fee, IDA Counsel Fee, and IDA Bond Counsel Fee associated with the IDA involvement in the project if the total project cost is less than $1 Million. For total project cost greater than $1 Million but less than $2 Million, the reimbursement of fees will be reimbursed on a sliding scale that declines from 100% to 0% gradually based on project size. There will be no reimbursement of fees for projects with costs over $2 Million. The reimbursement will take the form of additional property tax abatement credited to the business in the initial years of the Payment In Lieu of Tax agreement (PILOT). The IDA retains the right to determine the credit the applicant will receive. For projects where there is no property tax abatement, there will not be any form of fee reimbursement.
For Civic Facility projects where the debt is restructured and for all other projects where the debt is refinanced or restructured, the IDA fee will be 1% of the debt service saved over the term of the new financing that results from the restructuring or refinancing or $1,000, whichever is greater.
C. Property Tax Abatement for Standard Industrial Applications
The IDA is not required to pay real property taxes on any property it acquires. The IDA will require the applicant to make Payment In Lieu of Tax (PILOT) payments to all of the taxing authorities according to the following guidelines.
1. The following will be the standard property tax abatement offered to qualified businesses:
YEAR ABATEMENT
1 90%
2 77%
3 64%
4 51%
5 39%
6 26%
7 13%
2. The standard abatement will only impact taxes on improvements to the property and not taxes on existing property.
3. The IDA retains the ability to offer more than the standard abatement based on an analysis of the impact on the economy and the needs of the business. All appropriate taxing authorities will be notified of the reasons for deviation from standard policy and given an opportunity to review and comment on each project seeking a higher level of abatement before final IDA approval.
An applicant’s request for more than the standard abatement, should be supported by appropriate financial documentation that clearly substantiates the need for the deviation. This documentation should include a comparison of standard vs. proposed abatement, and an explanation of the financial assumptions used in the analysis.
D. Sales Tax Abatement
The applicant will be exempt from both the local and State portion of sales tax on construction materials, equipment, and furnishings associated with the project.
The IDA may grant sales tax abatement on the value of improvements to a project in which the IDA already holds title. The project owner or occupant must submit a standard application to the IDA, providing information on the nature of the improvements, economic impact, and the need for IDA incentives.
E. Miscellaneous Taxes and Fees
The applicant is responsible for paying all Special Assessments, Revenue Stamps, Recording and Filing Fees, Transfer Taxes, Estate Taxes, and that portion of the Mortgage Tax ($5 per $1,000) that is allocated to the local municipality. The applicant does not have to pay the portion of the Mortgage Recording Tax ($2.50 per $1,000) that is allocated to the State.
F. Local Purchasing and Hiring Practices
The IDA requires all recipients of IDA incentives to make every effort to purchase goods and services from Tompkins County businesses and to hire Tompkins County residents. The IDA is especially supportive of projects that make a specific commitment to hire women and minorities during the construction phase or as permanent full-time workers of the project’s operating businesses. The IDA may require detailed information concerning the applicant's past and projected purchasing and employment practices.
PROCEDURES
A. Application
Tompkins County Area Development, Inc. (TCAD), provides administrative and marketing services to the IDA. Potential applicants should work with TCAD to determine whether the proposed project is eligible. If the project appears to be eligible, the applicant will be invited to submit an application for assistance. The application will be presented to the IDA board for its review. Based on the nature of the project and the incentives requested, the following will occur:
1. If the project meets the goals of the IDA and the applicant is requesting the standard incentives and the project’s value is less than $100,000, the IDA can approve the project at the initial meeting. If the project’s value exceeds $100,000, the IDA will instead adopt a resolution describing its intent to provide assistance and the nature of that assistance.
2. If the applicant is requesting more than the standard incentives, all local taxing authorities that would be impacted will be notified and given an opportunity to comment on the project before IDA approval.
3. If the project is commercial or retail in nature, the IDA can approve the project only if the above-stated criteria have been met and contingent on support by the appropriate local government.
4. If the applicant is requesting tax exempt bonding assistance, a Public Hearing and approval by the Tompkins County Legislature may be required. In some cases, preliminary approval can be granted contingent upon successful completion of these requirements. All municipal and taxing authorities impacted by the project will be notified of the public hearing.
5. For projects valued over $100,000, a Public Hearing will be held in the city, town or village where the project is located, with thirty days public notice and thirty days notice to the CEO of each affected municipality and school district.
B. Notification and Reporting
1. The appropriate municipal authorities will be notified and invited to comment if a proposed IDA action will result in the relocation of a business from that municipality.
2. All appropriate taxing authorities will receive a copy of the PILOT Agreement not more than fifteen days after the project closes, and have certain rights related to payment in lieu of taxes. Late payments will be imposed a 5% penalty for the first month, plus one percent thereafter, and tax-affected jurisdictions may take direct action against project occupants if payments are delinquent.
3. Applicants will notify the State Job Service and any appropriate employment and training agencies, such as PIC/JTPA, regarding job openings that result from the project. Except as otherwise provided by collective bargaining agreements, applicants will agree to give first consideration to appropriate referrals from these agencies.
4. Businesses will be required to submit an employment report on an annual basis to include information on general job categories, salary, and women and minority employees, as well as a report on outstanding debt associated with the project.
5. When the IDA approves issuing incentives to a developer who has presented certain tenant companies as beneficiaries of these incentives, the IDA should be notified about any tenant company changes. The IDA has the right to determine if a new tenant company falls within the IDA’s project guidelines, and may re-evaluate its original project approval based on this determination.
6. Under certain circumstances, a Governor's order concerning affirmative action will be in effect.
Chick here to download the IDA Policies and Procedures.
Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency (TCIDA)
Standards of Conduct/Code of Ethics
Definition: (a) Board Member or Employee means a board member, employee, or administrator of the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency (TCIDA), whether paid or unpaid.
(b) Interest means a pecuniary or material benefit accruing to a board member, employee or administrator unless the context otherwise requires.
Policy: The Board of Directors of the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency recognizes that there are rules of ethical conduct for board members, employees, or administrators that must be observed if a high degree of moral conduct is to be obtained and if public confidence is to be maintained. It is the purpose of this Standard of Conduct to promulgate these rules of ethical conduct for the board members, employees, or administrators of the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency. These rules shall serve as a guide for official conduct of the board members, employees, or administrators of the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency.
Procedure:
Standards of conduct
Every the board member, employee, or administrator of the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency shall be subject to and abide by the following standards of conduct.
(a) Gifts
Shall not directly or indirectly solicit any gifts. Shall not accept or receive any gifts having a value of $75.00 or more or the limit set by New York State whichever is higher, whether in the form of money, services, loan, travel, entertainment, hospitality, thing or promise, or any other form, under circumstances in which it could reasonably be expected to influence the performance of official duties or was intended as a reward for any official action.
(b) Confidential Information
Shall not disclose confidential information or use such information to further a personal interest.
For the purposes of the Code of Ethics, all information falls into one of three categories: the class of information which is never confidential, the class of information which is always confidential, and the class of information which may be confidential.
Some internal or interagency records, communications, and reports are never confidential. According to the Public Officers Law, this is true of information that is:
- the result of an external audit; or
- statistical data; or
- an instruction to staff that affects the public; or
- making public a final policy or determination made by the county or one of its departments.
Disclosure or use of such information is not restricted by the Code of Ethics.
Information is always confidential when its disclosure would:
- impair current or imminent contract awards or collective bargaining negotiations; or
- impair a business’s ability to compete in the market place such as proprietary financial or business information; or
- interfere with law enforcement investigations or judicial proceedings; or
- deprive a person of their right to a fair trial or impartial adjudication; or
- constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy; or
- endanger the life or safety of any person.
Information that is always confidential also includes:
· information that is specified as non-disclosable by federal or state law.
No board member, employee, or administrator of the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency may ever disclose such information or use such information to further a personal interest.
Any information that does not clearly fall into just one of the above categories may be confidential.
(c) Representation before one’s own agency: shall not receive, or enter into any agreement, express or implied, for compensation for services to be rendered in relation to any matter brought before the TCIDA for consideration.
(d) Representation before any agency for a contingent fee: Shall not receive, or enter into any agreement, express or implied, for compensation for services to be rendered in relation to any matter before the TCIDA for consideration, whereby his/her compensation is to be dependent or contingent upon any action by such agency with respect to such matter, provided that this paragraph shall not prohibit the fixing at any time of fees based upon the reasonable value of the services rendered.
(e) Investments in conflict with official duties: shall not invest or hold any investment directly or indirectly in any financial, business, commercial or other private transactions, which creates a conflict with official duties.
(f) Private employment: shall not engage in, solicit, negotiate for or promise to accept private employment or render services for private interests when such employment or service creates a conflict with or impairs the proper discharge of official duties.
Disclosure
Board members, employees, or administrators of the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency shall file by May 15 of each year an annual disclosure statement. This shall be submitted to the Clerk of the Tompkins County Board of Representatives in the form prescribed by resolution of the Tompkins County Board of Representatives upon recommendation of the Ethics Advisory Board. The Clerk shall retain the forms on behalf of the Ethics Advisory Board and make them available for inspection as detailed below.
The Clerk of the Tompkins County Board shall make the information submitted on Annual Disclosure Statements available, on request, to the members of the Ethics Advisory Board, County Attorney, County Administrator, Director of Finance, State Auditor and Commissioner of Personnel. The Clerk shall also make the information submitted on Annual Disclosure Statements available to any other individual submitting a request to see it, as required by the Freedom of Information Law, but shall withhold from their inspection the range of market value of investments.
The County Attorney shall confirm filing by all required filers. Requests for determination regarding conflicts shall be referred by the County Attorney to the Ethics Advisory Board. If the County Attorney determines that any required filers have not completed and filed an accurate and complete disclosure form the County Attorney shall report this to the appropriate supervisor.
Distribution of code of ethics
The chairman of the Board of the Tompkins Industrial Development Agency shall cause a copy of this code of ethics to be distributed to every board member, employee, or administrator of the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency within thirty (30) days after the effective date of this local law.
Penalties
Any person who shall knowingly and intentionally violate any of the provisions of this code may be suspended or removed from office or employment, as the case may be, in the manner provided by law.
