BEACON FALLS — Officials are considering three amendments to the town’s tax incentive ordinance.
The ordinance, which was approved in March, offers tax incentives to businesses that invest $150,000 or more in a new commercial building or improvements to an existing commercial building. There are three tiers for the incentives based on how much money a business invests in a building.
Since its approval, two companies have applied for abatements.
The Goldenrod Corporation on Lancaster Drive received unanimous approval from voters at a town meeting in August to receive an abatement.
Dibra LLC, which is based in Seymour, was denied an abatement during the same town meeting.
In September, Dibra reapplied for the abatement with a very similar application, which was denied by the Board of Finance.
Although the application was summarily denied by the Board of Finance, it pointed to a problem in the ordinance. There’s no wording to stop a company from applying as many times as it wants.
Economic Development Coordinator Sadie Colcord sent three proposed amendments to the ordinance to the Board of Selectmen. The proposals include changing the ordinance so that businesses would only be able to reapply if the project substantially changed.
“I think we have seen in action how it can extend the process for an indefinite period. I don’t think that was the intention of what we were trying to do,” First Selectman Christopher Bielik said. “I think that is counterproductive.”
Bielik said he’s in favor of changing the ordinance to allow an applicant to reapply only if a substantial change has been made to the application.
As an example, Colcord said such a change could be making a building two stories if the original proposal was for a one-story building.
The final decision regarding how much the proposal would have to change would be up to the Board of Selectmen.
Colcord said the amendment is meant to ensure the same application doesn’t end up in front of the town again and again.
“We don’t want to go through the same process for the same project many times with the same outcome,” Colcord said.
The proposed changes also include allowing retail and wholesale distribution businesses to be eligible for personal property tax abatements on their equipment. Under the ordinance, only manufacturers are allowed to apply for a personal property tax abatement.
The final proposed amendment is to have the Economic Development Commission review applications.
A business that applies for an abatement submits an application to Colcord, who then forwards it to the Board of Finance to either reject it or send it to a public vote.
Under the proposed change, Colcord would pass the application to the Economic Development Commission, which would then pass it along to the Board of Finance with a non-binding recommendation.
The Board of Selectmen last week referred the amendments to the town attorney for review and is expected to take up the changes again at its next meeting.
Colcord said allowing the commission to look it over first would give the Board of Finance and Board of Selectmen some context about the project and whether the commission feels it’s worth receiving an abatement.
Colcord said the proposed changes are meant to meet the needs of the town and the business community.
“Not only are we offering an additional incentive with the personal property amendment, but we are trying to smooth out the process overall to make it more predictable and consistent for applicants. Obviously, we went through the first round of applications not having done something like this in Beacon Falls before, so we are making the necessary changes as we go along to make the program one of the best in the state,” Colcord said.
Bielik said the fact the board moved the proposed changes along in the process gives a pretty good idea where the board stands.
“I think that indicates that we are in favor of pushing it forward,” Bielik said.
