HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023/12/05 PUBLIC HEARING 9:00AMFILED FOR RE0014D
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BRAZOS COUNTY
B RYAN, T EXAS
PUBLIC HEARING
BRAZOS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT
BRAZOS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT WILL CONDUCT A
PUBLIC HEARING ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2023AT 9:00A.M.
IN THE COMMISSIONERS COURTROOM OF THE BRAZOS
COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, 200 SOUTH TEXAS
AVENUE, SUITE 106, B RYAN, TEXAS 77803
Commissioners Court will hold a Public Hearing on Guidelines and Criteria for Granting
TaxAbatements in Brazos County, TX.
All interested persons are invited to attend said hearing and present their cause, if any,
for or against the proposed Guidelines and Criteria.
The Brazos County Administration Building, 200 S. Texas Avenue, Suite 106, Bryan, TX77803 is wheelchair
accessible. Handicap parking spaces are available. Any request for sign interpretive services must be made two
working days before the meeting. To make arrangements, please call (979) 361-4102.
The foregoing minutes of the Commissioners Court Public Hearing held December 5, 2023, have
been examined and are approved in open Court this the 2nd day of January 2024, in Bryan, Brazos
County, Texas.
Duane Peters
County Judge
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Chuck Konderla
Commissioner, Precinct 2
Wanda J. Wa so
Commissioner, recinct 4
Attest:
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Karen McQueen
County Clerk
Steve Aldrich
Commissioner, Precinct 1
Nancy Be
Commissioner, Precinct 3
MINUTES
DECEMBER 5, 2023
BRAZOS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT
PUBLIC HEARING
Call to Order
A Public Hearing of the Commissioners' Court of Brazos County, Texas was held in the
Brazos County Commissioners Courtroom in the Administration Building, 200 South
Texas Avenue, in Bryan, Brazos County, Texas, beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday,
December 5, 2023 with the following members of the Court present:
Duane Peters, County Judge, Presiding;
Steve Aldrich, Commissioner of Precinct 1;
Chuck Konderla, Commissioner of Precinct 2;
Nancy Berry, Commissioner of Precinct 3;
Wanda J. Watson, Commissioner of Precinct 4;
Karen McQueen, County Clerk, Absent.
The attached sheet contain the names of the citizens and officials that were in
attendance.
Commissioners Court will hold a Public Hearing on Guidelines and Criteria for Granting
Tax Abatements in Brazos County, TX.
All interested persons are invited to attend said hearing and present their cause, if any,
for or against the proposed Guidelines and Criteria.
Judge Peters called the meeting to order and invited General Counsel Bruce Erratt to
give a brief presentation on the proposed Guidelines and Criteria for Granting Tax
Abatements in Brazos County, Texas.
Mr. Erratt explained that historically, the County has used Chapter 381 Agreements to
incentivize local economic development however, it is his recommendation that the
County begin utilizing Chapter 312 Agreements. He stated that the structure of the
Chapter 312 Agreements better align with the County's needs regarding property taxes.
The proposed criteria under general circumstances, provide for a maximum abatement
of fifty percent for five years.
Commissioner Aldrich commended the proposed guidelines noting, it may entice larger
companies to settle in Brazos County.
Judge Peters then opened the public hearing to any citizens who wished to make
comments.
Jody Quimby encouraged the Court to share the successes and failures in regard to
these Agreements to allow for better public transparency. He added that low tax rates
should incentivize companies and expressed concerns over promises made by the
County to the potential companies. Judge Peters explained abatements to Mr. Quimby
to clarify that the County is not paying taxpayer dollars to these companies.
Cathie Viens asked the Court to explain the difference between the Chapter 381
Agreements and Chapter 312 Agreements. Judge Peters stated that the County is now
proposing the maximum of fifty percent for five years. Ms. Viens also questioned how to
review compliance reports for the Agreements. The Court explained that the reports for
the Agreements monitored by the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) are
available through the EDC. Auditor Katie Conner added that she can provide the reports
for the Agreements monitored by the County.
The Court entered into further discussion on the guidelines.
Jody Quimby questioned how these agreements are monitored and Judge Peters
stated that the EDC handles that. Budget Officer Nina Payne added that prior to
abatements being granted, the companies are required to provide documentation
proving compliance.
Cynthia Wiley asked whether the County has had conversations with companies who
ultimately chose not to locate in Brazos County. Judge Peters stated that while he is
unsure of the exact reasons businesses have chosen to locate elsewhere, that has
happened in the past.
Jody Quimby raised further questions about payment to the EDC. Commissioner
Aldrich stated that all of that information is available to the public.
A copy of the proposed guidelines is attached.
Judge Peters adjourned the meeting at 9:45 a.m.
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STATE OF TEXAS §
COUNTY OF BRAZOS §
RESOLUTION
GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA
FOR GRANTING TAX ABATEMENTS IN
BRAZOS COUNTY, TEXAS
I.
INTRODUCTION
WHEREAS, the attraction of long-term investment and the establishment of new jobs in the Brazos
County would enhance the economic base of Brazos County; and,
WHEREAS, Brazos County has certain governmental powers that enable it to take affirmative and
effective action to stimulate economic growth; and,
WHEREAS, tax abatement is one of the principal means by which the public sector and the private
sector can forge a partnership to promote real economic growth within the community; and,
WHEREAS, tax incentives offered must be strictly limited in application to those new or existing
industries that bring new wealth into the community in order to avoid reducing the needed tax revenues
of the County; and,
WHEREAS, the Property Redevelopment and Tax Abatement Act (the "Act') Chapter 312 of the Texas
Tax Code authorizes the County to provide property tax abatement for limited periods of time as an
inducement for the development or redevelopment of a property; and,
WHEREAS, the Act requires eligible taxing jurisdictions to establish guidelines and criteria as to eligibility
for tax abatement agreements prior to granting any future tax abatement, said guidelines to be
unchanged for a two (2) year period unless amended or repealed by a three fourths (3/4ths) vote of the
Brazos County Commissioners Court; and,
WHEREAS, this document states guidelines and criteria that the County will utilize in attempts to assert
positive economic development, but should not be read to imply or suggest that Brazos County, Texas is
under an obligation to afford these opportunities to any applicants; and,
WHEREAS, the governing body of a taxing unit may not enter into a tax abatement agreement unless it
finds that the terms of the agreement and the property subject to the agreement meet the applicable
guidelines and criteria adopted by the County under the Act; and,
WHEREAS, the adoption of the guidelines by Brazos County does not: limit the discretion of the County
to decide whether to enter into a specific tax abatement agreement; limit the discretion of the County to
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delegate to its employees the authority to determine whether or not the County should consider a
particular application or request for tax abatement; or create any property, contract, or other legal right in
any person to have the County consider or grant a specific application or request for tax abatement.
WHEREAS, these guidelines and criteria are designed to allow maximum flexibility in addressing the
unique concerns of each applicant while enabling the County to respond to the changing needs of the
community.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Brazos County Texas, acting by and through its duly
elected Commissioners Court, hereby elects to participate in tax abatements and hereby adopts these
guidelines and criteria for granting tax abatements in Brazos County.
II.
DEFINITIONS
A. "Abatement' means the full or partial exemption from ad valorem taxes of certain real and/or
personal property in a Reinvestment Zone designated for economic development purposes pursuant to
Chapter 312 of the Texas Tax Code.
B. "Agreement' means a contractual agreement between a property owner and/or lessee and an
eligible jurisdiction for the purposes of tax abatement.
C. "Base Year Value" means the assessed value of eligible property January 1 preceding the
execution of the Agreement, plus the agreed upon value of eligible property improvements made after
January 1, but before the execution of the Agreement.
D. "County" means Brazos County, Texas.
E. "Deferred Maintenance" means improvements necessary for continued operations which do not
improve the productivity or alter the process technology.
F. "Distribution Center Facility' means buildings and structures, including machinery and equipment,
used or to be used primarily to receive store, service, or distribute goods or materials owned by the
facility operator where a majority of the goods or services are distributed to points at least fifty (50) miles
from location in the County.
G. "Expansion" means the addition of buildings, structures, fixed machinery, or equipment for
purposes of increasing production capacity.
H. "Facilit/' means property improvements completed or in the process of construction which
together comprise an integral whole.
I. "Manufacturing Facility' means buildings and structures including machinery and equipment, the
primary purpose of which is or will be the manufacture of tangible goods or materials or the processing of
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such goods or materials by physical chemical change, including the assembly of goods and materials
from multiple sources in order to create a finished or semi -finished product.
J. "Modernization" means the replacement and upgrading of existing facilities which increases the
productivity input or output, updates the technology or substantially lowers the unit cost of the operation.
Modernization may result from the construction, alteration, or installation of buildings, structures, fixed
machinery or equipment. It shall not be for the purpose of reconditioning, refurbishing, or repairing
except as may be integral to or in direct connection with an existing expansion.
K. "New Facility" means a property previously undeveloped which is placed into service by means
other than, or in conjunction with, expansion or modernization.
L. "Other Basic Industry" means buildings or structures, including fixed machinery and equipment
not elsewhere described, used or to be used for the production of products or services which serve a
market primarily outside the County and result in the creation of new permanent jobs and create new
wealth in the County.
M. `Personal Properly" means tangible personal property located on the real property, excluding that
personal property located on the real property prior to the period covered by the abatement with the
County, and other than inventory or supplies.
N. "Productive Life" means the number of years a property improvement is expected to be in
service.
O. `Project' means any property improvement including expansion, modernizations, and new
facilities; but excluding any deferred maintenance.
P. "Reinvestment Zone" means any area of the County which has been designated a reinvestment
zone for tax abatement purposes and which is located within the taxing jurisdiction of the County. It is
the intent of the County to designate reinvestment zones on a case -by -case basis in order to maximize
the potential incentives for eligible enterprises to locate or expand within the County.
Q. "Regional Entertainment Facility' means buildings and structures, including machinery and
equipment, used or to be used to provide entertainment through the admission of the general public
where the majority of the users reside at least fifty (50) miles from its location in the County.
R. "Regional Service Facility' means buildings and structures, including machinery and equipment,
used or to be used to provide services to the general public.
S. "Research Facility' means buildings and structures, including machinery and equipment, used or
to be used primarily for research or experimentation to improve or develop new tangible goods or
materials or to improve or develop the production processes thereto.
T. `Targeted Enterprise" means the following facilities — distribution center facility, manufacturing
facility, regional entertainment facility, research facility, regional service facility, or any other basic
industry.
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Ill.
CRITERIA FOR TAX ABATEMENT
A. General Criteria. All applications must meet all of the following general criteria before being
considered for tax abatement:
The project expands the local tax base.
2. The project creates permanent full-time employment opportunities.
3. The project would not otherwise be developed.
4. The project makes a contribution to enhancing further economic development.
5. The project must remain in good standing with all governmental and environmental
regulations.
6. The project must not have any of the following objections:
a. there would be substantial adverse effect on the provision of government services
on tax base;
b. the applicant has insufficient financial capacity;
C. planned or potential use of the property would constitute a hazard to public safety;
d. planned or potential use of the property would create adverse impacts to adjacent
properties;
e. any violation of laws of the United States or State of Texas or ordinances of the
City of Bryan, Texas or City of College Station, Texas, or order of Brazos County,
Texas would occur; or,
f. it is an improvement project financed with tax increment bonds.
7. Requests for abatements will not be considered if, prior to the submission of an
application, the project is already substantially underway or completed. A project will be
considered to be substantially underway if actions such as, but not limited to, the following
have occurred:
a. the demolition, site preparation, or the installation of infrastructure has begun;
b. a building permit has been issued for construction not associated with mitigating
an environmental hazard;
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C. construction (including renovations or tenant finish -out) has begun; or,
d. equipment, inventory, or employees have been relocated to the new site.
Execution of a lease, the mitigation of environmental problems, the purchase of
land, the completion of an environmental assessment, or the preparation of
architectural and engineering plans do not constitute a project being substantially
underway.
8. Requests for an abatement will not be considered for property that will be used in whole
or in part for a sexually -oriented business, including but not limited to condoning,
legitimizing, or promoting obscene materials, nude -or topless modeling or dancing, adult
motel operations, escort services, sexual encounter centers, sex phone centers, or any
other sexually -oriented business activity. Similarly, property receiving an existing
abatement for another use cannot convert this property for use as a sexually -oriented
business or an establishment and still retain the abatement.
9. Requests for an abatement will not be considered for an applicant with which the County
is currently involved in, or has within the past thirty-six (36) months been involved in,
litigation, a pending claim, or unsatisfactory contractual performance, nor to any applicant
indebted to the County for ad valorem taxes or other obligations.
B. Specific Criteria. If the project in the application meets the general criteria, is a facility of a
Targeted Enterprise, and has a capital cost that exceeds Ten Million Dollars and No/100ths
($10,000,000.00) then abatement of any or all of the increased value will be considered. In no case
would tax abatement exceed the maximum allowed by state law, or fifty per cent (50%) for five (5) years.
Factors to be considered in determining the portion of the increased value to be abated and the duration
of the abatement include, but are not limited to:
Total amount of the increased value;
2. Total number of jobs created;
3. Type of jobs created;
4. Dollar Value of payroll created;
5. Other costs and revenues associated with the application.
The County reserves the right to offer incentives that are greater than fifty per cent and or longer than five
(5) years for projects that significantly exceed the Specific Criteria.
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IV.
APPLICATIONS FOR REINVESTMENT ZONES AND TAX ABATEMENTS
A. All requests for reinvestment zones and tax abatements in the jurisdiction of Brazos County,
Texas shall be made by filing a written application with the Brazos County Commissioners Court after
addressing all criteria questions contained in this document. An application for designation of a
reinvestment zone and for tax abatement may be combined and submitted jointly. Such applications
may be filed with an agent or representative of the County hired to administer the County's program of
tax abatement.
All applications shall include the following, unless the County has waived a requirement that it
has deemed unnecessary to properly evaluate the request:
a general description of the project including purpose and explanation of the kind,
number, and location of all proposed improvements as well as how the project will meet
the criteria established by this document.
2. a plat showing the precise location of the property and all improvements thereon, all
roadways within 500 feet of the site and all existing zoning and land uses within 500 feet
of the site (a complete legal description shall be provided if the property is described by
metes and bounds).
3. a completed cost estimate of the project by land, building, equipment, inventory, and
personality categories.
4. a description of the methods of financing all estimated costs and the time when related
costs or monetary obligations are to be incurred, estimated number of employment
opportunities the project creates over the period of the abatement, including gross annual
payroll of permanent time and part-time employees remaining after construction is
complete.
5. a detailed time schedule for undertaking and completing the project.
6. a fee in the amount of One Thousand Dollars and No/100ths ($1,000.00).
B. After reviewing the application, if the County staff or its agent or representative finds the
application to be complete and accurate and meets the criteria established by this document, the County
staff or its agent or representative may then do or cause to be done an impact study, which the applicant
may be required to pay or participate in paying for, setting forth the impact of the proposed reinvestment
zone and tax abatement agreement. This study shall include, but not be limited to, a cost benefit
analysis of the creation of the investment zone and the abatement of taxes.
C. After establishing the benefits of the proposal, the County staff or its agent or representative may
propose that the County offer a tax abatement agreement to the applicant. The County staff or its agent
or representative may then propose the amount and duration of the tax abatement to the applicants, and
formally offer the tax abatement to the applicant.
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D. Having completed all the required steps in the process and having been assured by the applicant
that it wishes to proceed, the County may then follow procedures in accordance with the Texas Tax
Code Chapter 312 and establish a reinvestment zone and tax abatement agreement.
V.
DESIGNATION OF A REINVESTMENT ZONE AND TAX ABATEMENT
A. Prior to granting tax abatement, Brazos County, by Order, shall designate an area as a
reinvestment zone unless such zone has been previously established by a municipality within the
County. Prior to adopting such an Order, the Brazos County Commissioners Court must conduct a
public hearing on the designation that entitles all interested persons to speak and present evidence for or
against the designation. No later than the seventh (7th) day before the date of the hearing, notice of the
hearing must be:
1. Published in a newspaper having general circulation in the County; and
2. Delivered in writing to the presiding officer of the governing body of each taxing unit that
includes in its boundaries real property that is to be included in the proposed reinvestment
zone.
3. Posted on the county's website.
4. Delivered to The Brazos Valley Economic Development Corporation or its successor
organization.
B. The County, by resolution or order, may enter into a tax abatement agreement. At least thirty
(30) days before entering into the agreement, the County will deliver written notice of its intent to each
taxing unit that is included in the reinvestment zone,
1. Any agreement will include, but not be limited to, the following specific terms:
a. all appropriate stipulations included in the application, as outlined by this
document, for a reinvestment zone and tax abatement agreement.
b. the amount and duration of the tax abatement.
C. a method for determining the qualifications of meeting the criteria and a warranty
and guarantee to meet and maintain these qualifications over the term of the
agreement; the County will be allowed, upon written request and reasonable
notice, to inspect and audit such records of the applicant as are necessary to
substantiate that the applicant is meeting criteria agreed upon during the term of
the abatement;
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d. a provision in the event the agreement is terminated for whatever reason, or the
applicant fails to fulfill the terms and provisions thereof, the tax abatement
agreement will be determined null and void and all or some portion of abated
taxes, as may be determined by the Brazos County Commissioners Court in its
sole discretion, shall be paid immediately to the County.
e. access to and authorized inspection of the property by County employees, agents
or representatives to ensure that the improvements or construction are made
according to specifications and conditions of the agreement.
C. An agreement may be modified or terminated by the mutual consent of the parties in the same
manner that the agreement was approved and executed; provided, however, the agreement may not be
altered to provide for tax abatement for a period of more than five (5) years.
D. This Resolution shall be posted on the Brazos County website.
RESOLVED this day of , 2023.
Duane Peters
County Judge
Steve Aldrich Chuck Konderla
County Commissioner, Precinct 1 County Commissioner, Precinct 2
Nancy Berry
County Commissioner, Precinct 3
ATTEST:
Karen McQueen, County Clerk
Wanda J. Watson
County Commissioner, Precinct 4
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