At the January 26 Lancaster County commissioners meeting, Lyle Hosler, Project Manager for the Economic Development Company (EDC) of Lancaster, presented an overview of a federally-sponsored 2010 program that will pipe over $14 million of tax-free financing for private projects into the county. The Recovery Zone Facility Bonds Program, part of the federal stimulus package, has allocated Lancaster more funding than any other county in Pennsylvania, according to Hosler.
Hosler explained how Lancaster wound up with the state’s largest allocation: “Largely that was due to calculations that the IRS and the Treasury did that involved unemployment changes within the county,” Hosler said, “So, when we’re Lancaster County, and we go from very low unemployment to being affected by the economy, our percentage change there was greater than Philadelphia, it was greater than Pittsburg, it was greater than other counties.”
This financing—at 70-80% the cost of taxable rates—will be available for projects in the private sector with the purpose of creating jobs and promoting economic recovery.
“There is no liability to the County,” Hosler said of the bonds, “This is strictly a County allocation that we are looking to spread out.” The bonds will be underwritten by local banks.
All allocations will require approval from the EDC, as well as the county commissioners. During the review process, Hosler said, “We’ll look at the types of wages involved and the impact to the community—things such as…bringing a blighted property back onto the tax rolls at a higher value.” Projects must be located within the ‘Recovery Zone,’ a combination of the County’s Urban and Village Growth Areas.
Hosler told NewsLanc that there are currently no projects lined up to request financing through this program.
The County will lose any funds that have not been dispersed by the end of the year. “In reality, we’re probably going to need shovel-ready projects,” Hosler said. “It’s going to be first-come, first-serve.”
