§ 17-35. Application and award.

(a)

Application for incentives. Except where an applicant seeks only those state incentives discussed in subsection 17-33(c) above, in order to be eligible for incentives, a person, firm or corporation must submit to the office of the mayor and city administrator a proposed set of incentives for a development (a "proposal"). The proposal must include a sufficient description of the development, to include, without limitation, the following information:

(1)

Identification of the property or properties on which the development is to be located (the "subject property") and any acquisition costs thereof;

(2)

The estimated start date and completion date for any work to be performed on the subject property;

(3)

A list of any physical improvements that are to be made to the subject property as part of the development, including a good-faith estimate of the costs thereof;

(4)

The then-current value of the subject property and a good-faith estimate of the value of the subject property upon completion of the improvements thereto;

(5)

A good-faith estimate of the number of jobs that the development is projected to create, including an estimate of the date upon which the estimated number of jobs will have been created;

(6)

A statement affirming that, based upon any acquisition costs for the subject property, along with good-faith estimates for the costs of physical improvements and the number of jobs created, the development will meet or exceed the minimum investment requirements of subsection 17-34(a)(4);

(7)

A good-faith estimate of other revenue for the city that will be created as a direct result of the development, including anticipated business license fees, additional property tax revenue, capital improvements to city-owned infrastructure and utilities revenue; and

(8)

any other additional information that the incentive recipient or the mayor or city administrator deems may be necessary and helpful for council to evaluate and give due consideration to the proposal.

(b)

Determination of award and incentive amounts. The determination of an incentive award lies within the sole discretion of city council. The amount of incentives granted to a development shall be based upon the amount of the capital investment in the development, the amount of new revenue for the city directly created by the development and the number of new jobs that will be directly created by the development. The amount of incentives granted to a development shall in no case exceed the value of the direct and indirect benefits of the development to the city. These amounts shall be expressly included within any incentive agreement. Economic development incentives under this article may be the subject of a closed council meeting, § 30-4-70(a)(5), SC Code. The final incentive offer shall be authorized by ordinance. Consistent with the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act and upon request per city policy, documents related to an economic development incentive offer and/or its fiscal impact may be released after:

(1)

The offer to attract the business to invest in the city is accepted by the business to whom it was made; and

(2)

The public announcement of the project or finalization of the incentive agreement, whichever occurs later (§ 30-4-40(a)(9)).

(c)

Certification, commencement and continuation of incentives.

(1)

No incentive shall commence or be given until such time as the development has been issued a certificate of occupancy and/or a business license as well as a certificate that all terms and benchmarks included within the applicable incentive agreement, including without limitation benchmarks for capital investment, property valuation, and job creation (the "benchmarks"), have been fully achieved or otherwise completed.

(2)

Where benchmarks, such as the number of jobs created, are to be met continuously over a period of time, the incentive recipient shall provide to the city, on an annual basis, sufficient proof that the development has continuously achieved or otherwise complied with such benchmarks.

(3)

If, at any time after completion of a development or at any time within the period of time during which a development is granted incentives, a development fails to achieve or otherwise comply with a benchmark, council may, at its discretion and on a case-by-case basis, declare the incentive agreement null and void and refuse to grant any future incentives; or decrease the amount of incentives based upon the actual direct and indirect benefits of the development to the city and its citizens.

(Ord. of 12-15-16(1))