§ 10-4. Economic development financial incentive grant ordinance.

(a)

Short title. This section shall be entitled "Marion County Economic Development Financial Incentive Grant Ordinance."

(b)

Purpose and intent .

(1)

Alternative declaration of authority and guidelines. The board acknowledges that F.S. § 125.045, affords a stand-alone basis of authority for the board to enter into contracts with business entities providing for grant funding and other measures in support of economic development within the county; and

(2)

Purpose and intent. The purpose of this section is to promote and encourage economic development within both unincorporated and incorporated areas of Marion County in furtherance of the legislative findings in subsection F.S. § 125.045(1), for the specific types of eligible uses, activities and industries, and in compliance with the guidelines, described herein.

(c)

Program administration .

(1)

General program management. The county administrator or his/her designee shall manage the program established by this section, subject to overall policy direction and general oversight by the board of county commissioners.

(2)

The county administrator, or his/her designee shall be responsible for accepting and reviewing all applications for eligibility for funding and for directing all due diligence related to such applications. The county administrator or his/her designee will evaluate and make written recommendations to the board for final review, consideration, approval or denial of the recommendations. The board may approve the recommendations of the county administrator, in whole, or in part, or reject the application as presented.

(3)

The county administrator or his/her designee shall monitor the performance of all EDFIG contracts approved under this section.

(4)

After EDFIG funding has been awarded, the county administrator or his/her designee shall be responsible for:

a.

Collecting required documents from the grantee to determine the grantee's compliance with applicable agreement terms;

b.

Reviewing and analyzing the documents collected;

c.

Determining the grantee's compliance status; and

d.

Approving payments when applicable.

(5)

The clerk of the circuit court and comptroller internal audit division (clerk's office) will provide assurance that the county administrator's determination of the grantee's compliance status is reasonable and supported by sufficient documentation. The clerk's office shall have the right to audit, to examine and make copies or extracts from all records pertaining to EDFIG funding, without limit, including confidential information, to provide such assurance. The clerk's office shall have the right to contact the grantee directly to request documents and to perform on-site audits when necessary. The timing of any audit shall be determined by the clerk's office.

(d)

Eligible uses, activities, and industries .

(1)

Economic Development Financial Incentive Grant (EDFIG) funding may be awarded for one or more of the following types of uses, activities, or industries:

a.

Businesses engaged in manufacturing and industrial activities.

b.

Businesses engaged in logistics, distribution and warehousing.

c.

Businesses engaged in aviation engine or airframe maintenance, passenger service or related air cargo or aviation parts distribution.

d.

Businesses engaged in corporate headquarter activities and/or operational and communication centers with a minimum of fifty (50) or more full-time, new to Marion County workers in the areas of healthcare, insurance, banking, communications, logistics, technical and customer support services.

e.

Businesses engaged in research and development activities.

f.

Businesses qualifying as eligible applicants as a "targeted industry" by the State of Florida or eligible under the State's Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund Program or the qualified defense contractor tax refund program.

(2)

EDFIG funding may also be awarded to companies, organizations, individuals or departments of county government to support business assistance programming for one or more of the following types of uses or activities:

a.

Assistance in providing technical support for international trade.

b.

New business recruitment services.

c.

Assistance for technical support for federal contracting services.

d.

Specialized professional services for developing funding resources to support county based economic development initiatives.

e.

Assistance for county sponsored agricultural research and commercialization.

f.

Assistance in providing one-time relocation expenses to qualified targeted industries defined as company expenses such as relocation of machinery and equipment, facility lease payments for up to one year or other reasonable one-time related expenses associated with the relocation of the company.

g.

Other types of business related expenses or county inter-departmental charges recommended by the county administrator for approval consistent with the intent of this section as is necessary on a case-by-case basis.

(3)

For qualifying applicants creating more than two hundred (200) full-time, new to Marion County jobs, EDFIG funding for capital improvements, grants may also be awarded by the board on behalf of companies seeking relocation and or expansion of existing qualifying industries within Marion County for business relocation, or business expansion related expenses. These grants may be payable to various departments of county government, third party service providers, or contractors on behalf of the applicant to help off-set business relocation or expansion related expenses. Examples of acceptable types of expenses for businesses providing Marion County job creation include:

a.

Required transportation access and egress.

b.

Transportation impact fees.

c.

Water and sewer construction.

d.

Water and wastewater capital charges.

e.

County building and permitting fees.

f.

County growth management and environmental permitting charges.

g.

Capital improvements, fees or charges determined by the board to be necessary to support the successful relocation or expansion of a qualifying applicant.

(4)

State of Florida Economic Development Programs: EDFIG funding may be applied as a source of qualifying funding to be used by the county in providing local required financial matching funds to qualified eligible targeted industries for participation in the following State of Florida sponsored economic development incentive programs:

a.

Qualified target industry tax refund program.

b.

Qualified defense contractor tax refund program.

c.

Any future State of Florida program requiring a local financial match.

(e)

EDFIG program guidelines . The following guidelines provide the minimum qualifications and standards for business participation in the Marion County "Economic Development Financial Incentive Grant (EDFIG) Program":

(1)

An applicant must create a minimum of ten (10) new to Marion County jobs to qualify for grant consideration. All ten (10) positions must be hired within the first full year of operation of the business in Marion County. All new jobs must meet the minimum annual gross wage requirements of one hundred fifteen (115) percent of Marion County's average annual gross wage. Applicant will be subject to a formal agreement containing a series of terms and conditions outlining job creation, annual gross wage and hiring schedule requirements. The applicant must also meet the eligibility requirements as a qualifying "targeted industry" defined by the State of Florida for the "qualified target industry tax refund program" or the "qualified defense contractor tax refund program."

(2)

An applicant creating twenty (20) or more, new to Marion County jobs can qualify for eligibility by achieving an "average" of all gross wages equaling one hundred fifteen (115) percent of Marion County's average annual gross wage. Applicant must also meet the eligibility requirements as a "targeted industry" as defined by the State of Florida in F.S. § 288.106. The jobs required by subsection (1), above, and this subsection (2) must be full time actual employees of the applicant, new to Marion County and expected to exist for period not less than three (3) years.

(3)

Failure to create and maintain the new proposed jobs or satisfy related performance guidelines established in a formal agreement between Marion County and the applicant will result in either a termination of the agreement or reduced grant benefits. The applicant will be required to report annually the company's performance for the duration of the contract period.

(4)

The applicant must demonstrate the ability to provide a minimum capital investment of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.00) in Marion County; the board, in its discretion, may approve a grant to an applicant who is unable to satisfy this level of investment, upon demonstration that an award of a grant to this applicant would be justified based on the applicant's ability to bring other benefits to the county consistent with the intent of this program. This capital investment can be demonstrated by indicating acquisition of real estate, capital improvements of an existing facility, acquisition or relocation of machinery, equipment or other tangible personal property that will be used in the new proposed enterprise. The applicant must be able to demonstrate the level of this capital investment within one year from the date of approval of the EDFIG award or within the performance schedule outlined in the grant agreement. Failure to satisfy the minimum capital investment of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.00) will result in either a termination of the agreement or reduction in grant benefits.

(5)

Funding requests for relocation benefits for applicants moving from one location within Marion County to another location within county is prohibited unless the applicant can demonstrate a hardship requiring the relocation. Consideration will be provided for the following causes:

a.

Damage of the original location due to a natural or manmade disaster.

b.

Relocation due to public taking or acquisition of the original location.

c.

Original location does not allow for expansion due to site or space restrictions.

d.

Original location is unable to accommodate increase in new jobs.

(6)

EDFIG funding shall not be used to provide funding for the construction of "speculative" building until such time that the board finds a need for the creation of speculative space.

(7)

Confidentiality. Marion County shall utilize the provisions of F.S. § 288.075, if applicable, in providing "confidentiality" for the benefit of any applicant seeking to expand or relocate their business to Marion County. This confidentiality will be maintained until either the applicant provides a release to the county or at such time the applicant's request for board approval of public funding from the EDFIG program requires the county to publish a public notice of such action.

(8)

Each EDFIG application will be presented to the board pursuant to subsection (c) by recommendation from the county administrator, or his/her designee. Applications will be reviewed by the board and implemented by resolution and grant agreement. Resolutions will indicate, at a minimum, the name of the applicant, the number of proposed jobs, qualifying wage levels and the proposed amount of new capital investment proposed by the applicant within Marion County.

(9)

Any grants provided by this section shall be subject to an annual appropriation by the board.

(f)

Non-exclusivity . This section shall not be the exclusive means of implementing F.S. § 125.045, and nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit the board from exercising the authority provided for in F.S. § 125.045 to provide incentives to attract and retain business enterprises based solely on the authority, and terms, of that statute. Every grant agreement shall clearly specify whether it was adopted pursuant to the provisions of this section, or the statute.

(Ord. No. 11-48, § 2, 7-5-2011; Ord. No. 16-19, § 1, 6-7-2016; Ord. No. 16-32, § 1, 10-4-2016)

Editor's note

Ord. No. 11-48, § 1, adopted July 5, 2011, repealed the former § 10-4, and enacted a new § 10-4 as set out herein. The former § 10-4 pertained to qualifications and standards for participation in Marion County Local Economic Development Incentive Program and derived from Ord. No. 07-25, § 1, adopted Sept. 4, 2007; Ord. No. 08-04, § 1, adopted Feb. 19, 2008; Ord. No. 08-33, § 1, adopted Nov. 4, 2008.