Changes in RDAs could aid cities

Group's goal is to provide more flexibility and fairness

Published: Monday, Aug. 29, 2005 12:14 p.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
Even though the legislative session is still more than four months away, the Utah League of Cities and Towns is working on language for a bill that could overhaul the way cities direct development.

The league, which serves as a lobbying agency for the dozens of municipalities throughout Utah, has been working with Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, and a legislative working group to split redevelopment agency projects into three types, which cities could then fashion to their specific needs.

Millions of sales tax dollars pour into city coffers each year, and often those cities woo developers and large retailers by creating tax incentives for them to build within their borders. Those incentives pit neighboring cities against each other for the same stores that would likely come to cities without the tax incentives, lawmakers have said throughout months of interim meetings.

But when municipalities offer the tax breaks, it reduces revenues for schools and other entities that would share in the tax income.

During the 2005 legislative session, Bramble successfully carried a bill that eliminated cities' abilities to use eminent domain in redevelopment agency projects, or RDAs. Bramble also vowed to overhaul RDAs, and he has chaired an interim task force on tax reform. Now, approximately half-way through the interim period (the 2006 legislative session begins in January), Bramble and the task force are starting to think about specific bill language.

Story continues below

Most of that language will come from the league, which has proposed splitting one type of RDA into three: economic development, redevelopment and community development.

"As we found, no two communities were alike," said Lee King, Midvale city administrator, at a meeting of the RDA working group Thursday.

Currently, RDAs create development incentives by setting a base tax rate and then collecting money over that rate for approximately 20 to 25 years. The RDA spends the increment money on infrastructure improvements — roads, sewers, curbs, gutters, etc. — within the boundaries of the project. But because the RDA project pulls taxes away from the agencies that would ordinarily collect it — school boards, counties and other taxing districts — sometimes those taxing entities object to the projects.

Under the current system, the schools, counties and other taxing members cannot individually opt into or out of the project; they can only vote as a bloc to approve or reject the project.

Under the community development option, the individual taxing entities could choose to participate or ignore the project. In the economic and redevelopment tracks, any votes on the RDA project that the taxing entity committee takes must pass with a super-majority. That slight shift would give more weight to individual entities.

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

Image
Deseret Morning News graphic

previousnext

Latest comments

let Milsap go, I relize he may be one of 4 people on the team with heart, get...

To "I Smell California," who brilliantly made the following comment a few...

dollar contract and he is getting 10 million this year than he will only be...

The Jazz already have a couple of other PFs they can use: Okur is really a...

Wasn't Joseph Smith's "inspired translation" enough? Will someone please...

I had Bro Pratt as a seminary teacher only two years ago. He is the most...

We do need to see the evidence as it comes out in the Legal system. If...

Stop celebrity coverage

We want this stuff. The media aren't making money without our permission,...

I don't want homosexuals exposing themselves in front of my children. The...

Why bury GM story?

What some of you don't understand is that if GM had filed bankruptcy without...

Advertisements