10-02-04 City Council Retreat Agenda

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. . . HARRIS COUNTY. TEXAS COMMISSIONERS COURT: ROBERT ECKELS COUNTY JUDGE :EL FRANCO LEE COMMISSIONER, PRECINCT 1 SYLVIA R. GARCIA COMMISSIONER, PRECINCT 2 STEVE RAOACK COMMISSIONER, PRECINCT 3 JERRY EVERSOLE COMMISSIONER, PRECINCT 4 c/o Department of Management Services 1001 Preston, Suite 938 Houston, Texas 77002 (713) 755-5113 GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA FOR GRANTING TAX ABATEMENT IN A REINVESTMENT ZONE CREATED IN HARRIS COUNTY Whereas, the creation and retention of job opportunities that bring new wealth is the highest civic priority; and Whereas, new jobs and investment will benefit the area economy, provide needed opportunities, strengthen the real estate market and generate tax revenue to support local services; and Whereas, the communities within Harris County must compete with other localities across the nation currently offering tax inducements to attract jobs and investments; and Whereas, any tax incentives offered in Harris County would reduce needed tax revenue unless strictly limited in application to those new and existing industries that bring new wealth to the community; and Whereas, any tax incentives should not have a substantial adverse effect on the competitive position of existing companies operating in Harris County; and Whereas, tax incentives should not be used to attract those industries that have demonstrated a lack of commitment to protecting our environment, but should be used to encourage projects designed to protect our environment; and Whereas, the abatement of property taxes, when offered to attract primary jobs in industries which bring in money from outside a community instead of merely re-circulating dollars within a community, has been shown to be an effective method of enhancing and diversifying an area's economy; and Whereas, Texas law requires any eligible taxing jurisdiction to establish Guidelines and Criteria as to eligibility for tax abatement agreements prior to granting any tax abatement, said Guidelines and Criteria to be unchanged for a two year period unless amended by a three- quarters vote; and Whereas, to assure a common, coordinated effort to promote our communities' economic development, any such Guidelines and Criteria should be adopted only through the cooperation of affected school districts, cities and Harris County; and Whereas, Harris County Commissioners Court has approved the circulation of the attached Guidelines and Criteria to affected taxing jurisdictions for consideration as a common policy for all jurisdiction which choose to participate in tax abatement agreements; HARRIS COUNTY GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA FOR GRANTING TAX ABATEMENT P AGE I