Allen County will wait until the last minute to make a decision about Iola’s Neighborhood Revitalization Program.
The city wants to make changes to the program, but commissioners aren’t on board.
Their reluctance to sign on to the revised program raises questions about what happens if the county doesn’t renew the agreement by Nov. 30. It could mean the county’s participation ends. Maybe it will stay the same. Or, perhaps the county will start its own, separate version.
The Neighborhood Revitalization Program offers a tax rebate to property owners who make improvements, such as new buildings or remodeling efforts. Owners receive a rebate equal to the amount their property taxes increased because of the improvements.
Iola, Humboldt and LaHarpe each have programs. They partner with other taxing entities, including the school district in their respective areas, Allen Community College and the county.
Gregg Hutton, building and codes director for Iola, asked county commissioners to agree to two changes. One would extend the length of the NRP, calling for a renewal every five years rather than every three.
The other would extend the tax rebate for home improvements to a 10-year, 100% rebate. Currently, all the participating cities have a tiered rebate system. They offer a 100% rebate for the improved taxes for the first six years. Every year after that, the rebate decreases from 80% to 60% to 40% to 20%.
Hutton hopes the change will spur construction of residential housing. He noted that in the past six years, only six houses were built in Iola while about 50 houses were demolished.
“We’ve got to look at what’s going to help Iola and Allen County in 20, 30 years down the road. Right now we may not have those taxes coming in the door, but if no one is building houses, you won’t have new taxes coming in 20 or 30 years from now,” Hutton said.
Cole Herder, Humboldt city administrator, pointed out that it’s not just about property taxes. New housing means additional revenue to the city in the form of utilities.
COMMISSIONERS want to keep the tiered system. Commissioner Bruce Symes said the program is working well in its current form, and he’s seen no evidence that changing it will result in new housing.
Commissioner David Lee also was opposed to making a change. Chairman Jerry Daniels said he was taking a more neutral stance.
The city, USD 257 and ACC have all agreed to the change.
The current program ends Nov. 30. If the county doesn’t sign on, it’s not clear what would happen next. The prevailing theory is that the county’s participation would end, but commissioners asked Counselor Bob Johnson to look into the matter.
They would prefer the county continue but with the tiered system, even though the other participants would be at 100% for 10 years.
If that’s not possible, perhaps the county could establish a separate program that would cover the entire county.
