§ 7-4. Business development programs.
(a)
Economic Development Grant Incentive Program.
(1)
It is hereby ascertained, determined, found and declared as follows:
a.
The Lake County Board of County Commissioners finds that the establishment of the Economic Development Grant Incentive Program and corresponding expenditure of public funds will enhance and increase economic activity in Lake County by attracting and retaining business activities conducive to economic promotion, preserving and expanding employment opportunities, and improving the welfare and competitive position of the citizens of Lake County.
b.
The Lake County Board of County Commissioners finds that economic development supported by the Economic Development Grant Incentive Program must be directed toward specific, measurable objectives in order to constitute a public purpose as contemplated by Section 125.045, Florida Statutes.
c.
The Lake County Board of County Commissioners finds that economic development with these goals serves a public purpose.
(2)
Application procedure.
a.
In order to qualify for a grant under this section, the applicant must complete and submit a GPO Application Form to the County Manager or designee.
b.
The County Manager or designee shall evaluate the application and recommend to the Lake County Board of Commissioners the amount of the grant to be awarded, if any.
c.
The Lake County Board of County Commissioners shall have final authority in awarding Economic Development Grant Incentive Program funding, including the amount of said funding, based upon its review of information provided by the County Manager or designee and by the applicant.
d.
Upon an award of a grant through the Economic Development Grant Incentive Program, the applicant shall execute an agreement with the County which shall set forth the terms, conditions, performance standards, and sanctions governing funds awarded through the Economic Development Grant Incentive Program.
(3)
Grant qualifications and criteria.
a.
An award under this section shall only be made to a targeted business/industry, as defined in this chapter, on the basis of the qualifications set forth herein.
b.
An applicant must create and maintain a minimum of ten (10) jobs after the date the application is received by the County that pay no less than one hundred fifteen (115) percent of the average annual wage for Lake County, and make a capital investment of at least one million dollars ($1,000,000.00), in order to qualify for a grant under this section.
(4)
Method and calculation of grant amount.
a.
All grants shall be provided in the form of a payment of a certain percentage of the payment(s) tendered by the awarded applicant to satisfy the ad valorem taxes on real and/or tangible personal property owned by the applicant in any given year of the agreement time horizon, calculated as set forth herein.
b.
An award may be granted each year up to five (5) years or up to ten (10) years and shall decrease in amount for each year of award after the initial award in the manner set forth in the tables below (Table A for targeted businesses engaged in manufacturing (up to five (5) years); Table B for other target businesses (up to five (5) years); Table C for targeted businesses engaged in manufacturing (up to ten (10) years); and Table D for other target businesses (up to ten (10) years).
c.
Only targeted businesses that meet the following criteria will be eligible for a grant beyond five (5) years:
i.
Creation and maintenance of a minimum of twenty-five (25) jobs after the date the application is received by the County that pay no less than one hundred fifteen (115) percent of the average annual wage for Lake County; and
ii.
A capital investment of at least twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000.00).
d.
The grant amounts for each year of the agreement shall be calculated by subtracting the "Lake County General" portion of ad valorem taxes owed in the base year from that same portion of ad valorem taxes derived from the year 1 taxable value and multiplying that incremental value by the appropriate percent formula provided in Tables A and B, found below. At no time shall the amount of the grant, in any given year, exceed the amount derived by multiplying the percent formula for the given year by the actual "Lake County General" portion of ad valorem taxes paid during that same year.
e.
For those targeted businesses engaged in manufacturing, the amount of the awarded grant shall not exceed one hundred (100) percent of the incremental increase in ad valorem taxes.
f.
For those targeted businesses engaged industries other than manufacturing, the amount of the awarded grant shall not exceed eighty (80) percent of the incremental increase in ad valorem taxes.
Table A: Manufacturing Businesses (up to five (5) years)
Year 1
Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 100%
80% 60% 40% 20% Table B: All Other Targeted Businesses (up to five (5) years)
Year 1
Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 80%
60% 40% 20% 10% Table C: Manufacturing Businesses (up to ten (10) years)
Year 1
Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 100%
90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% Table D: All Other Targeted Businesses (up to ten (10) years)
Year 1
Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 80%
70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% (5)
Requirements for compliance and reporting.
a.
Within sixty (60) days of the payment of the grant recipient's ad valorem taxes, and only after the full project has been completed and all capital investment been expended and jobs created as described in the GPO, the grant recipient must submit a report of compliance which shall include the recipient's ad valorem tax bill from Lake County, proof of payment of ad valorem taxes for that year, and a copy of its certified payroll for the most recent pay period.
b.
The grant recipient must submit a compliance report for each grant year during which a grant has been awarded and is to be disbursed.
c.
Upon submission of the compliance report, the awarded applicant may request disbursement of the awarded grant funding. Disbursement of the grant amount to the recipient shall be made after County approval of the recipient's compliance report. No payment shall be paid by the County to an awarded applicant until the time for an appeal of the assessed value to the Value Adjustment Board has expired.
(6)
Grant not payable through ad valorem revenue. The Economic Development Grant Incentive Program shall not constitute a debt, liability or obligation of the County or of the State of Florida or any political subdivision thereof within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory limitation, or a pledge of the faith and credit or taxing power of the County, the State of Florida, or of any political subdivision thereof, but shall be payable solely from the funds provided for that purpose. The Economic Development Grant Incentive Program Agreement shall contain a statement to the effect that the County shall not be obligated to pay the Economic Development Grant Incentive Program or any installment thereof except from the non-ad valorem revenues or other legally available funds provided for that purpose, that neither the faith and credit nor the taxing power of the County or of the State of Florida or any political subdivision thereof, and that the Applicant, or any other person whomsoever, shall never have any right, directly or indirectly, to compel the exercise of the ad valorem taxing power of the County of the State of Florida or any political subdivision thereof for the payment of the Economic Development Grant Incentive Program or any installment thereof.
(7)
Filing with the office of economic and demographic research. The applicant shall, pursuant to Section 125.045(4), Florida Statutes, provide a copy of its compliance report to the State of Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research annually during the term of the Economic Development Grant Incentive Program Agreement. Said report shall detail how County funds were spent and the results of the applicant's efforts on behalf of the County. The County shall, pursuant to Section 125.045(5), Florida Statutes, annually report to the State of Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research all grants in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) given to any applicant during the previous fiscal year.
(b)
Other incentives.
(1)
Expedited permitting. The county manager or designee shall insure that qualified projects are processed as expeditiously as possible. The county manager is authorized to issue procedures governing the timing of review of such projects, so long as any such procedure is consistent with the land development regulations.
(2)
Transportation impact fee deferral. In accordance with Chapter 22, Lake County, the Lake County Board of County Commissioners may waive, reduce or permit deferral of impact fees.
(3)
Significant economic impacts. The Lake County Board of County Commissioners may approve incentive awards to persons, businesses or industries so long as the board determines that such persons, businesses or industries will create a significant economic impact within Lake County.
(c)
State of Florida incentives. The Lake County Board of County Commissioners recognizes programs offered by the state, through Enterprise Florida, and shall give consideration to providing assistance to qualified applicants by adopting resolutions, providing a twenty (20) percent local match, or processing applications as applicable to each program.
(d)
United States Federal Government incentives. The Lake County Board of County Commissioners recognizes programs offered by the United States Federal Government and shall give consideration to providing assistance to qualified applicants by adopting resolutions as applicable.
(e)
Workforce Florida incentives. The Lake County Board of County Commissioners recognizes programs offered by Workforce Florida, and shall support qualified applicants by offering information regarding the programs.
(Ord. No. 2009-26, § 3, 5-26-09; Ord. No. 2010-47, § 4, 11-23-10; Ord. No. 2013-56, § 2, 10-22-13; Ord. No. 2017-13, § 4, 3-21-17; Ord. No. 2019-10, § 3, 2-12-19)