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Home My Public Portal About7.4.49_Large Business Incentive Policy Document Type: Policy Document No: 7.4.49 Original Issue Date: June 12, 2023 Current Revision No Date of Last Issue: City of Melfort Large Business Incentive Policy Supersedes: Date of Last Review: Issued by Planning & Development Approved by Council Page 1 of 5 Existing Large Business and New Large Business Incentive Policy 1.0 PURPOSE 1.1 To promote economic development by stimulating large-scale commercial development in the City of Melfort. 2.0 GENERAL POLICY 2.1 The policy will be evaluated annually. 2.2 This policy is established under the authority of Section 244(1) and 244(2) of The Cities Act and only applies to the Municipal Tax Levy. 3.0 DEFINITIONS 3.1 Definition of a Large Business (New or Existing): • A business that owns one or more Eligible Properties. 3.2 Definition of an Eligible Property: • An individual property subject to commercial taxation, situated within the corporate limits of the City of Melfort, where the Owner of such property has completed improvements to the property requiring an investment of at least $10,000,000.00 or more in new funds, including construction costs, materials, consultants, utility connection/servicing costs but excluding the cost acquiring the property. To qualify as an Eligible Property, the construction of the improvements in question must be commenced on or after the effective date of this policy. The improvements in question may be new improvements or additions to existing improvements on the property, but the value of existing improvements or the costs of constructing the same will not be factored into determining whether a property is an Eligible Property. City of Melfort Large Business Incentive Policy Document Type: Policy Document No. 7.4.49 Page 2 of 5 4.0 INCENTIVE 4.1 Large Businesses Any New or Existing Large Business may qualify for the following tax abatements: • Subject to approval by Council, and Council’s discretion with respect to the duration of the abatement period approved and the percentage abatement to be granted in any given tax year, an abatement of the municipal tax levy of an Eligible Property may be applied on December 31 of a given tax year following the later of: 1. completion of the improvements, as evidenced by the date of issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the improvements or, where an occupancy permit is not required, as evidenced by a declaration of substantial performance in accordance with The Builders’ Lien Act; or 2. where applicable, the expiry of any other property tax incentive granted by Council; not to exceed the Maximum Percentage Abatement set out in the following schedule: Tax Year Following Completion of Improvements/Expiry of Other Incentive Maximum Percentage Abatement 1st Ninety per cent (90%) Abatement 2nd Eighty per cent (80%) Abatement 3rd Seventy per cent (70%) Abatement 4th Sixty per cent (60%) Abatement 5th Fifty per cent (50%) Abatement 6th Forty per cent (40%) Abatement 7th Thirty per cent (30%) Abatement 8th Twenty per cent (20%) Abatement 9th Ten per cent (10%) Abatement 10th No Abatement • In determining whether a property qualifies as an Eligible Property, the applicant Large Business will be required to produce estimates, invoices, work orders, contracts or other supporting documents substantiating, to the satisfaction of Council, the cost of improvements made or to be made to the proposed Eligible Property. Council may also require production of the foregoing documents in evaluating whether to approve an incentive under this policy, and, where an City of Melfort Large Business Incentive Policy Document Type: Policy Document No. 7.4.49 Page 3 of 5 incentive is approved, in determining the terms of the abatement(s) to be granted. Where the applicant Large Business applies for an incentive under this policy prior to completion of the improvements, the applicant will also be required to produce documentation to the satisfaction of Council substantiating the cost of the improvements as completed. Failure to produce any such documents when requested to do so may result in an application being denied. * Council reserves the right to deny an abatement that would otherwise be available under the above criteria in situations where a New or Existing Large Business has unpaid arrears of property tax from prior tax years at the time the abatement is to be applied, including, without limitation, where an incentive has already been approved under this policy for a given Eligible Property, or where Council is of the opinion the granting of such abatement would not otherwise be in the best interests of the community as required by section 244(2)(e)(i) of The Cities Act. * Approval of an incentive under this policy will not entitle the Large Business to a retroactive abatement of property tax where a Large Business fails to apply for an incentive under this policy on or before the first date on which a property would have otherwise qualified as an Eligible Property. * Council reserves the right to approve each incentive package individually and to customize incentives to any specific Eligible Property or Large Business, including, without limitation, by fixing, on a case-by-case basis, the duration of any period of abatement and the applicable percentage abatement to be applied, up to the Maximum Percentage Abatement applicable for that year. City of Melfort Large Business Incentive Policy Document Type: Policy Document No. 7.4.49 Page 4 of 5 City of Melfort Application to Access Large Business Incentive Policy Any business that wishes to access the Large Business Incentive Policy will be required to complete the following Application to Access Large Business Incentive Policy. Once the application is received by the the Department of Community Services, should the property in question fall within the scope of the definition of Eligible Property, the Director of Community Services will review the application. If the Director of Community Services is satisfied that the property in question satisfies the criteria for becoming an Eligible Property, the Director will forward the application to Council for review and a decision. Should the request be approved, the Director of Community Services shall provide a letter to the Large Business, indicating that an incentive has been approved and outlining the decision of Council with respect to each Eligible Property covered by the Large Business’s application, as well as the terms and conditions forming part of the incentive as approved by Council. ***PLEASE PRINT*** Business Name: Business Owner: Mailing Address: ___________________________________________________ Phone Number: ____ Fax Number: E-mail Address: Business License Number: Roll Number: Civic Address of Eligible Property: Cost of Improvements to the Eligible Property: (Please note that the Director of Community Services or Council may require that you produce supporting documentation to substantiate your application) City of Melfort Large Business Incentive Policy Document Type: Policy Document No. 7.4.49 Page 5 of 5 For Office Use Only Declaration of Applicant I, , of the (Name of Applicant – Please Print) (Municipality) In the Province of Saskatchewan, do solemnly declare that all of the above statements contained within the Application are true, and I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing it to be true, knowing that it is of the same force and effect as if made under oath or affirmation. Dated: Signature: Date Application Received: Attachments included (if any): ______ Rejected or Delayed: ☐ Reasons Specified: _______________________________________ Referred to Council: ☐ Comments: ______ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Date Application Finalized: Notification will be forwarded to the Applicant on the status of his/her application.