Miami-Dade Legislative Item
File Number: 050933
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File Number: 050933 File Type: Ordinance Status: Adopted
Version: 0 Reference: 05-91 Control: County Commission
File Name: TJIF PROGRAM Introduced: 4/1/2005
Requester: Office of Community and Economic Development Cost: Final Action: 5/3/2005
Agenda Date: 5/3/2005 Agenda Item Number: 7H
Notes: TLL- 4/1/05-ORD SUNSETS IN 10 YEARS Title: ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 2-1254 AND 2-1258, RESPECTIVELY, OF THE CODE OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, RELATING TO THE TARGETED JOBS INCENTIVE FUND PROGRAM (TJIF); ADDING ELIGIBLE INDUSTRY, MODIFYING TJIF PROGRAM PARAMETERS AND ADDING ADDITIONAL BONUS INCENTIVES; PROVIDING SEVERABILITY, INCLUSION IN THE CODE, EFFECTIVE DATE AND PROVIDING FOR SUNSET
Indexes: TARGETED JOBS INCENTIVE FUND PROGRAM
Sponsors: Katy Sorenson, Prime Sponsor
  Jose "Pepe" Diaz, Co-Sponsor
  Dorrin D. Rolle, Co-Sponsor
Sunset Provision: Yes Effective Date: 5/13/2005 Expiration Date: 5/12/2015
Registered Lobbyist: None Listed


Legislative History

Acting Body Date Agenda Item Action Sent To Due Date Returned Pass/Fail

Board of County Commissioners 5/3/2005 7H Adopted P
REPORT: The County Manager’s memorandum dated May 3, 2005, entitled “Changes for the May 3, 2005, BCC Meeting corrected scrivener’s errors on handwritten page 7 in Section 2-1258(d) of the foregoing ordinance to change the name of the firm to read Florida Green Building Coalition, Inc., instead of Florida Building Council.

County Manager 4/28/2005 Scrivener's Errors 5/3/2005
REPORT: On hand written page 7 in Section 2-1258 (d), the company's name should read Florida Green Building Coalition, Inc. not Florida Building Council.

Community Empowerment & Econ. Revitalization Cmte. 4/12/2005 3A Forwarded to BCC with a favorable recommendation P
REPORT: Chairman Rolle opened the public hearing. There being no one to appear in connection with this matter, the public hearing was closed. Commissioner Diaz asked that he be listed as a cosponsor of the foregoing proposed ordinance.

Board of County Commissioners 4/5/2005 14A2 Adopted on first reading P
REPORT: The foregoing proposed ordinance was adopted on first reading and was set for public hearing before the Community Empowerment and Economic Revitalization Committee on April 12, 2005 at 2:30 p.m.

County Manager 4/1/2005 Additions 4/5/2005

County Attorney 4/1/2005 Assigned Shannon D. Summerset 4/1/2005

County Manager 4/1/2005 Referred Community Empowerment & Econ. Revitalization Cmte. 4/12/2005

County Manager 4/1/2005 Assigned County Attorney 4/5/2005
REPORT: OCED (PH CEER 4/12/05 CMTE) (2ND RDG 5/3/05)

County Manager 4/1/2005 Assigned Tony Crapp 3/14/2005 4/1/2005

Legislative Text


TITLE
ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 2-1254 AND 2-1258, RESPECTIVELY, OF THE CODE OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, RELATING TO THE TARGETED JOBS INCENTIVE FUND PROGRAM (TJIF); ADDING ELIGIBLE INDUSTRY, MODIFYING TJIF PROGRAM PARAMETERS AND ADDING ADDITIONAL BONUS INCENTIVES; PROVIDING SEVERABILITY, INCLUSION IN THE CODE, EFFECTIVE DATE AND PROVIDING FOR SUNSET

BODY
WHEREAS, this Board recognizes the need to stimulate economic development in Miami-Dade County and particularly in certain economically depressed areas; and

WHEREAS, this Board desires to encourage economic growth and development, the creation of above average paying jobs, the alleviation of economic disinvestment and unemployment and the creation of an enhanced business climate particularly in distressed targeted areas; and

WHEREAS, this Board finds that the modification of the Targeted Jobs Incentives Fund Program would enhance the existing Program and stimulate economic development and revitalization in Miami-Dade County; and

WHEREAS, this Board finds that a modified Targeted Jobs Incentive Fund Program is appropriate and consistent with the public proposes of promoting a healthy economy and eliminating distressed economic conditions.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA:

Section 1. Section 2-1254 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 2-1254. Eligible Industries
The TJIF Program is available to the following industries:

>>gg. Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic Manufacturing Installation and Repair.<<

Other industries not listed above may participate in the TJIF Program with approval from the Board of County Commissioners (Board).

Section 2. Section 2-1258 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 2-1258. TJIF Incentives
The total TJIF award is based on the number of New Jobs created and the amount of countywide ad valorem property taxes, excluding debt service, and countywide portion of sales taxes paid per annual amounts addressed in the approved application/agreement. The TJIF award is tentatively ascertained, pending Board approval, during application processing by entering application information into the Economic Impact Model. Miami-Dade County will provide up to [[$6,000]] >>$9,000<< per New Job in TJIF incentives as follows:

>>d. Up to $1,500 bonus for companies that operate their businesses out of buildings or facilities that qualify as "green construction" and/or that incorporates alternative energy systems. Specially, a company can receive a bonus of up to $1,000 if the Company operates its business out of a building or facility which qualifies as "green construction" and is certified through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System by the Florida Green Building Council or by the U.S. Green Building Council; and an additional bonus of up to $500 if the Company operates its business in a building or facility which incorporates solar, thermal, photovoltaic, fuel cell, and/or co-generating energy generation. The alternative energy systems, with the exception of solar thermal, must be grid interconnected to the local utility to qualify.<<

>>e. Up to $1,500 bonus, if the company is in the business of Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic Manufacturing, Installation and Repair.<<

Consideration for award within a municipality or unincorporated Miami-Dade County will be evaluated and reported to the Board on a case-by-case basis.

A capital investment TJIF award may be provided to a Company when the minimum number of New Jobs has been created and when new capital investment by and/or for the Company exceeds $3 million in taxable property value. For a period of up to six (6) years (or longer as may be determined by the Board), the Company may receive said capital investment TJIF awards in the amount of eighty (80) percent of the amount of countywide ad valorem property taxes paid-in on the subject property and one hundred (100) percent of the amount of countywide ad valorem property taxes paid-in on the subject property if it is located in a Designated Priority Area. This award is not applicable to the ad valorem property taxes paid-in on the subject property's land value nor to any improvements in place prior to the project.

A Company may not receive award payments of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the total awards specified in the approved application/agreement in any fiscal year even if all the New Jobs are created in one (1) year. Further, a Company may not receive more than $1.5 million in awards in any single fiscal year, or more than $2.5 million in any single fiscal year if the project is located in a Designated Priority Area. A Company may not receive more than $5 million >>(or a higher amount as determined by the Board for any company funded from this Program after June 1, 2005)<< in award payments in all fiscal years, or more than $7.5 million >>(or higher amount as determined by the Board for any company funded from this Program after June 1, 2005)<< if the project is located in a Designated Priority Area. Further, the total award is capped by the lower of the above or the total of the applicable and ad valorem property and sales taxes paid-in as a result of the project. Additionally, a Company cannot receive both a TJIF award and Enterprise Zone Tax Abatements unless the TJIF award is in excess of the Abatement; a Company cannot receive both the TJIF award on large capital investment taxes paid-in and the TJIF regular ad valorem property tax funded award; and, while a Company can receive both a tax refund under the State of Florida Qualified Target Industry Program and a TJIF award at the same time, it cannot receive more than an amount equal to what it has paid-in under the project at any time.

Section 3. Invalidity. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or provision of this ordinance is held invalid, the remainder of the ordinance shall not be affected by such invalidity.

Section 4. Provisions of this Ordinance. It is the intention of the Board and it is hereby ordained that the provisions of this ordinance shall become and be made part of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida. The sections of this ordinance may be renumbered or relettered to accomplish such intention, and the word "ordinance" may be changed to "section", "article", or other appropriate word.

Section 5. Effective Date. This ordinance shall become effective ten (10) days after the date of enactment unless vetoed by the Mayor, and if vetoed, shall become effective only upon an override by this Board.

Section 6. Sunset. This ordinance shall sunset ten (10) years after its creation.

HEADER
DATE:

TO: Honorable Chairman Joe A. Martinez
and Members, Board of County Commissioners

FROM: George M. Burgess
County Manager

SUBJECT: Ordinance Amending Sections 2-1254 and 2-1258 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Relating to Miami-Dade County's Targeted Jobs Incentive Fund Program (TJIF) Program; Adding Eligible Industry, Modifying TJIF Program Parameters and Adding Additional Bonus Incentives

STAFF RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Board adopt the attached proposed ordinance which would amend Sections 2-1254 and 2-1258 of the Code of Miami-Dade County thereby modifying and enhancing the County's Targeted Jobs Incentive Fund Program (TJIF) created in July 2000. Essentially, the amendments will give the Board of County Commissioners the authorization to increase the maximum award available under the TJIF Program, provide additional bonus incentives for those companies, which are environmentally sensitive, and add an additional category to the list of eligible industries. The purpose of the program is to attract relocating businesses and support local business expansions in Miami-Dade County.

MANAGER'S BACKGROUND
On July 6, 2000, the Board adopted Ordinance No. 00-98 creating the TJIF as a local program to attract businesses to Miami-Dade County. At that time, The Beacon Council, in its capacity as Miami-Dade County's official economic development partner, and County staff developed the self-funding TJIF business initiative and modeled it after the State of Florida's Qualified Targeted Industry Tax Refund Program (QTI), a business incentive program.

The TJIF Program provides cash incentives to qualifying companies in selected industries that create above-average paying jobs (at least 10 new jobs for relocating companies and at least five (5) new jobs for expanding companies) and generate enough new revenues to the County to fund the Program. All disbursements of cash incentive awards occur after jobs are created and after a qualifying company pays its taxes. Cash incentives paid-out to a qualifying company cannot, in any event, exceed the amount of taxes paid in. The Program includes incentive preferences for hiring targeted area residents of the Enterprise Zone, the Empowerment Zone, Targeted Urban Areas, Brownfield areas, and Community Development areas. Both the County TJIF Program and the State QTI Program spur business activity and are aimed at expanding the Miami-Dade County economy. The TJIF is independent of the State QTI Program and it is the decision of a particular company as to whether it participates in one or both of the programs.

The TJIF is an inducement program by the County, available to companies from outside of the County (with the exception of Palm Beach, Broward, and Monroe Counties) wishing to relocate to Miami-Dade County and to Miami-Dade companies which undertake a business expansion and which create jobs as a result of the local expansion. Nevertheless, a Palm Beach, Broward or Monroe County-located company that is planning to relocate outside South Florida is eligible for the TJIF inducement program and may be solicited by The Beacon Council in an effort to retain the business in South Florida. As the case with the State's QTI Program, confidentiality may be protected regarding a company's location and/or expansion evaluation in accordance with Florida Statues 288.075 and 288.1066. An applying company's point of contact is The Beacon Council. The Beacon Council then provides the application and a recommendation to County staff leading to consideration by the Board.

The County participates in the State's QTI program in an effort to attract relocating businesses and support expansion of existing businesses. However, the "business" of attracting and retaining businesses is dynamic and highly competitive and an effective local business incentive program is also needed. In fact, other South Florida counties, including Broward and Palm Beach, and many communities nationwide, have local relocation incentive programs. We offer the TJIF Program as our local business incentive program; however, from time to time, the incentives must be re-evaluated in order for Miami-Dade County to remain competitive in attracting relocating firms, encourage existing local company expansion and promote job growth.

When the TJIF was formulated in July 2000, The Beacon Council and County staff thought the Program parameters would serve as appropriate business incentives. A working group consisting of The Beacon Council and County staff has now developed the proposed TJIF amendments. It is believed that these changes will provide for effective business incentives (cash awards) and remain competitive while maintaining a program funded solely from the tax revenues received from TJIF participating companies.

One of the proposed changes to the TJIF Program being recommended to the Board is the addition of a new industry to the "Eligible Industries" section of the Program. This new industry is "Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic Manufacturing and Repair." The Beacon Council recently submitted a report entitled "A Report to Miami-Dade County on Solar Energy" dated March 8, 2005 (attached) which provides descriptive detail regarding Solar Energy and how businesses can incorporate the conservation of energy in the construction and maintenance of their buildings. As a result, the Beacon Council and the County concur with adding "Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic Manufacturing and Repair" as an eligible industry. Photovoltaic is a solar energy system which converts sunlight into electrical energy.

This recommendation is based on the industry's growth potential, the reduced pollution, positive impact on the environment, and the potential job creation anticipated for this industry in the professional, technical, managerial and skilled categories. According to the Beacon Council's report, competition already exists among states to attract the solar energy industries and businesses operating in green buildings as evidenced through the various types of incentives used to attract and promote expansions in this industry.

In order to maintain the County 's goal of remaining competitive, proactive in economic development incentives and sensitive to our local environment, adding the solar thermal and photovoltaic industry is recommended. Other program changes in the proposed amendment are as follows:

Increasing the maximum amount of an award that Miami-Dade County can provide a qualifying company from $6,000 to up to $9,000 per new job in TJIF incentives.
Allowing the Board to establish a maximum award amount a company may receive in all fiscal years inside and outside of a Designated Priority Area.
Providing a bonus up to $1,500 for companies with a building or facility that qualifies as "green construction" and/or that incorporates alternative energy systems.
Providing a bonus up to $1,500 if the company is in the business of solar thermal and photovoltaic manufacturing, installation and repair.

Essentially, this incentive Program is designed to promote business activity to Miami-Dade County and the resulting tax revenue that would not be realized if the program did not exist. It is anticipated that the amended Program will increase business activity in the County overall, and continue to aggressively promote job creation.

OTHER
FISCAL IMPACT
Although Countywide Ad Valorem property tax revenue and the Countywide portion of sales tax revenue will be used to fund the TJIF Program; the TJIF is structured so that revenue received from the company will exceed cash incentives paid out by the County to the qualifying companies. Thus, there is a positive fiscal impact to the County.

Attachment



___________________________
Assistant County Manager



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