Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Local Sales Taxes Help Fix Up Longhorn Building And Other Sites
The "old Longhorn" building, next to Larsen's Jewelry Store, is an example of LB 840 funds being put to good use.
The Economic Development Board met on Tuesday, June 9, with a quorum of members. Chairman Roger Wynne called the Zoom meeting to order at 7:30 am.
The board had previously tabled the consideration of using local banks to process and handle all LB 840 loans, but it was decided that the use of local banks just wasn't a feasible option for all parties.
LB 840 money is sales tax money from the city. The city averages about $15,000 monthly in sales tax. According to City Treasurer Annette Brower, "Each month the sales tax that is generated by local businesses in town is remitted back to the city two months out – so this month's June sales tax amount reflects sales in town in April 2020, etc. Of this total, the .05 % is directed back to (the economic development) fund to give out as grants and loans."
All loans or grants are sent to the the Economic Development Board or Loan Advisory Committee, then they make the recommendation to the city council. This has been an adjustment for the ED board because previously they were just doing loans, and now they are doing loans and grants.
Due to COVID, grants had stacked up and the Economic Development Board had to review and act on 17 different grants. The total amount of the seventeen business facade or business infrastructure grants was about $133,000. A healthy sum of around $900,000 remains in the city LB 840 fund for loans and grants.
"It is going fast because people are finally doing it," Brower said. "We had money sitting there for a very long time and nobody wanted to access it. It is there for the people. It is city tax dollars coming back to the businesses.
"It is basically saying take that money back, improve your business to make more business. It is like a domino effect."
The ED funds are a result of Resolution #2007-05 which was voted on in 2007 and will be effective from Oct. 1, 2008, until Sept. 30, 2023. This provided that a 1/2% sales tax increase to be set aside for businesses improvement.
When Resolution #2007-05 expires, the public will need to vote whether or not to continue the economic development under the State of Nebraska LB840 guidelines.
Members of the ED board are Chairman Roger Wynne, Stephanie Risk-McElroy, Chad Wise, Larry Walker and Mike Coleman.
For businesses, the first step to obtain a grant is the Citizen Advisory Committee. The committee makes all the rules and guidelines, decides eligibility and, of course, follows the state statues. An application for LB 840 money can be found on the city website.
