County reviews incentives toolkit and tax‑abatement fee option to fund site preparation

Consultants presented an incentives toolkit for Perry County and urged elected officials to adopt a formal metric for evaluating developer incentives.

The presenter described a statutory option under Indiana law that allows a fiscal body to assess a fee—up to 15% of a developer’s tax‑abatement savings—under certain tax‑abatement agreements. "It allows you to assess a fee to them on an annual basis with a maximum collection being a maximum fee being 15% of the savings they would retain if they receive the tax abatement," the presenter said, adding that funds would flow to a nonprofit economic‑development entity established to manage such resources.

The toolkit the consultant shared is a draft intended to be broken into "bite‑sized" guidance for prospective local investors, the presenter said, and the consultant proposed publishing examples on the county economic development web page and sharing the material with local banks and prospective employers. Council members asked how the toolkit would be communicated to residents and small investors and urged follow‑through to avoid the toolkit becoming a static document.

The consultant also recommended active engagement with redevelopment authorities and suggested using redevelopment funds for façade improvement grants and preemptive site investments to attract projects. No formal incentive or fee was adopted at the meeting; staff and consultants will refine the toolkit and propose outreach steps.