Okaloosa County BOCC — July 6, 2016 — Capacit Fee Abatement Final

ORDINANCE NUMBER 16-____ AN ORDINANCE OF OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE OKALOOSA COUNTY CODE, CHAPTER 24, ARTICLE II, DIVISION 5, SUBDIVISION I; CREATING A NEW SECTION 24-214 WHICH AUTHORIZES THE GRANTING OF A DEFERRAL OF THE PAYMENT OF CAPACITY EXPANSION CHARGES FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; PROVIDING FOR THE ELIGIBILITY FOR THE DEFERRAL; PROVIDING FOR THE TERMS OF THE DEFERRAL; INCORPORATING INTO THE CODE OF OKALOOSA COUNTY; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, Okaloosa County has previously established the requirement for the payment of Capacity Expansion Charges for the provision of water and sewer service by the County; and WHEREAS, as part of the County’s overall economic development efforts, the availability of a deferral program whereby Capacity Expansion Charges could be paid over a period of time would provide an additional incentive for the location or expansion of businesses within the County; and WHEREAS, the establishment of a deferral program tied to the economic development efforts of the County serves a public purpose and enhances the economic development tools which are available to the County. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA: Section 1. Section 24-214 of Chapter 24, Article II, Division 5, Subdivision I of the Code of Okaloosa County, Florida is hereby created and shall read as follows: Sec. 24-214. – Deferral of Payment of Capacity Expansion Charges for Economic Development Purposes. (1) The board hereby establishes a deferral program that allows the payment of water and sewer capacity expansion charges over time for those non-residential projects which have been determined to qualify as an Economic Development Project by the Okaloosa County Economic Development Council. 1  (2) Eligibility. In order to qualify for the deferral program, the non- residential business must have applied for and received an Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption by the County either prior to or concurrently with the approval of the deferral. In addition, the non-residential business must be certified by the Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County as a high impact economic development project within a target industry business as established under the provisions of section 288.106, Florida Statutes. A high impact economic development project shall be a project which creates one hundred (100) new high impact jobs and/or will provide a capital investment of at least ten million dollars ($10,000,000). (3) Terms of the deferral shall be as follows: a. The payment of the water and sewer capacity expansion charges, which would normally be required to be paid in advance of the issuance of a building permit and the setting of the water meter, shall be deferred. Only the water and sewer capacity expansion charges shall be eligible for deferral and not the cost of expansion of any lines or infrastructure necessary to provide service to the project. The County is authorized, but not obligated, to enter into additional agreements to address the provision and funding of necessary capital infrastructure to serve a project based upon the specific circumstances of a particular project. b. In lieu of payment prior to construction, the business shall be allowed to pay the water and sewer capacity expansion charges on their utility bill once service is instituted and shall be paid over a period of three years in equal monthly payments. The deferred payment plan shall apply to the total charges in such amounts as respectively set out in Appendix A-