Title
Request by CRA Executive Director and CRA Attorney to Waive Statutory Penalties by CRA Board for Payment of 2016 Tax Increment by City and County (B)
Explanation
On November 30, 2016, CRA staff received an email from Alachua County’s Economic Development Office requesting CRA staff review the Property Appraiser’s certification of each of the CRA Districts and expansions to determine if there were any errors. The County Economic Development Office also indicated that the County’s contribution to the 2006 Eastside Redevelopment Expansion area would be reduced to meet the City’s millage rate. According to the email, the 2006 Eastside Expansion area was created after 2006, thus allowing the County to reduce its millage contribution to that of the City’s.
This email alerted CRA staff that there were inconsistencies in the Eastside Expansion Areas and perhaps in the other CRA districts. On December 7, 2016 CRA Staff presented a Memorandum to the General Policy Committee regarding this Communication from Alachua County Staff. In researching this change, CRA Staff and the City Attorney’s office confirmed that the 2006 Eastside Expansion Area was created prior to the October 1, 2006 statutory deadline and was not eligible for this reduction. It also appeared that the two expansions added to the Eastside District in 2010 were not included in the 2016 Valuation, but, were potentially eligible for the reduction in millage the County was seeking. Moreover, it appeared from CRA staff review that other properties may have been included in the Property Appraiser’s valuation of the Eastside area that should not have been included. Because CRA staff does not have the expertise to review the geographic information system (GIS) mapping used to determine the inclusion and exclusion of properties from the Property Appraiser’s Valuation, CRA staff hired a third party firm, DRMP. Inc., to assist with further research regarding the inclusion of the 2010 Eastside Expansion ...
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