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SURA
Board Vision:
The SURA Board vision is to
see Sandpoint as a flourishing community where our beautiful natural
environment is combined with a healthy economy and strong
infrastructure to provide the citizens a safe and desirable place to
live.
SURA
Board Mission:
The SURA Board mission is to
leverage and promote public/private partnerships and investment
within the renewal districts to provide:
- Strategic
economic vitalization of our downtown, industrial and
commercial areas
- Enhancement of
public art
Benefits of the Northern Urban Renewal Area (URA):
- No alternative
sources of revenue are available for the reconstruction of Great
Northern and Woodland Drives which was identified as a priority
for City
- Promotes job
creation
- Investment in
infrastructure will yield stronger tax base
- West side
arterial route will improve ease of transit for citizens of City
and County
Potential Benefits of Downtown URA:
- Provides an
additional source of revenue to implement the remaining phases
of the downtown revitalization project as described in the
downtown revitalization plan prepared by Tom Hudson. This
project has been identified as a priority for the City
- Better
prepares downtown for potential changes
- Promotes
downtown commerce
- Improved
quality of life for citizens of City and County
- Enhanced
public parking
Available Tools
In 1985, the Idaho state
legislature adopted the Local Economic Development Act which
authorized the use of tax increment financing. Under tax increment
financing, the increased taxes generated by increased property
values in the URA are used to pay for public improvements and other
revitalization activities in a portion of that area known as the
Revenue Allocation Area (RAA). At the time an urban renewal
district is formed, the county assessor establishes the current
value for each property in that RAA. This value is referred to as
the “base” value. Over time, as both public and private dollars are
invested and development occurs in the area, property values rise.
The increase in value over the base is called the “incremental”
value, or increment. The taxes generated by this incremental value
are shared by the school district and the urban renewal agency.
This tool is being used by 39 other urban renewal agencies
throughout the State to fund urban renewal.
Legitimate Concerns in the Formation of Urban Renewal Agencies
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How will the formation of the SURA
Board affect the taxpayers of Sandpoint?
This is a very difficult question to
answer because in part it depends on the actions of the City
Council. Since the tax increment will be spent on public
infrastructure within the City of Sandpoint, the City Council may
elect to lower their budget by the amount of the tax increment.
If the Council chooses lower its budget, the effect is neutral on
the taxpayer and the SURA Board will invest the increment in
infrastructure for the City. If it does spend the tax increment, it
will impact the taxpayer either by increasing the mil rate or by
lowering the reduction of the mil rate. Whether the net to the
taxpayer is positive or negative depends on City spending and the
valuation of their property relative to the total property
valuation.
The calculation of the magnitude of the impact is underway, however
the experience of communities with urban renewal agencies has been
that the impact is minor relative to the public benefit. This is
why the Idaho legislature established these laws. The SURA Board
will only recommend and the City Council will only approve
investment in public infrastructure that is deemed beneficial
relative to its cost. The advantage of tax increment financing is
that the City can borrow against the tax increment for future years
and therefore accelerate its investment in infrastructure.
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How will the investment in new
infrastructure affect other taxing entities within the URA?
Investments in infrastructure will be
funded only from increased tax revenue resulting from new real
estate investment reaching the tax roles after the effective date of
the URA. Taxes prior to the effective date constitute the base
taxes and there is no change in their allocation to the various
taxing bodies. New construction resulting from the creation of the
URA is tax neutral since without the creation of the URA there would
be no tax increment. In those cases where construction did not
result from the investment in infrastructure, the tax increment for
these entities will be deferred for some period of time (with the
exception of the school district). These funds constitute an
investment in infrastructure which will have a strong return on
investment for all taxing entities.
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Will the URA adversely impact our
school district?
Idaho law ensures that maintenance and
operations budgets for the school district will remain whole when
using tax increment financing for all districts using the .003
multiplier such as our district does.
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What type of oversight of the SURA
Board is available?
All plans of the SURA Board will require
approval of the Sandpoint City Council before they can be
implemented.
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Will investment in new
infrastructure benefit only the citizens of Sandpoint?
The mission of the SURA Board is
economic vitalization and enhancement of public art within the URAs.
This investment will ultimately yield new jobs, more downtown
commerce and a better quality of life. Therefore the beneficiaries
of this process include the residents of the City of Sandpoint as
well as our entire metropolitan area and county.
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