[Adopted 10-15-2008 by Ord. No. 2304-08]
The Mayor and Borough Council hereby authorizes the utilization
of tax exemptions and abatements in accordance with Article VIII,
Section 1, Paragraph 6, of the New Jersey Constitution and establishes
the eligibility of commercial structures owned by qualified businesses
and located in the Borough's Urban Enterprise Zone for five-year
tax exemptions and abatements to the maximum extent permitted by N.J.S.A.
40A:21-1 et seq.
Every applicant for five-year tax exemptions and abatements
shall file with the Tax Assessor the application form prescribed by
the Director of the New Jersey Division of Taxation in the Department
of the Treasury (Form E/A-1) as a condition to approval, within 30
days, including Saturdays and Sundays, following the completion of
the improvement or construction. Every application for exemption or
abatement so filed shall be approved and allowed by the Tax Assessor
within 30 days to the degree that the application is consistent with
the provisions of this article, provided that the improvement or construction
for which the application is made qualifies as such, pursuant to the
provisions of this article and the tax agreement, if applicable. Every
application shall be accompanied by a fee of $1,000 to be paid as
compensation for legal and related administrative review by Borough
officials. The granting of an exemption or abatement and tax agreement,
if applicable, shall be recorded and made a permanent part of the
official tax records of the taxing district, which record shall contain
a notice of the termination date thereof.
Improvements to commercial structures (as defined by N.J.S.A. 40A:21-3n) owned by qualified businesses (as defined by N.J.S.A. 52:27H-62c) and located in the Urban Enterprise Zone (as designated by Chapter 24, Urban Enterprise Zone, Article II, Designation Accepted, § 24-13, of the Code of the Borough of Roselle), are eligible for tax exemption, subject to the approval, by ordinance, of the Mayor and Council on an individual basis after review, evaluation and approval of each application. If approved, in determining value of real property, the governing body of the Borough shall regard up to the Tax Assessor's full and true value of the improvements as not increasing the value of the property for a period of five years, notwithstanding that the value of the property to which the improvements are made is increased thereby. During the exemption period, the assessment on the property shall not be less than the assessment thereon existing immediately prior to the improvements, unless there is damage to the structure through action of the elements sufficient to warrant a reduction.
Construction of new commercial structures (as defined by N.J.S.A. 40A:21-3g) owned by qualified businesses (as defined by N.J.S.A. 52:27H-62c) and located in the Urban Enterprise Zone (as designated by Chapter 24, Urban Enterprise Zone, Article II, Designation Accepted, § 24-13, of the Code of the Borough of Roselle) is eligible for tax exemption and abatement. Such qualified businesses shall enter into a tax agreement with the Borough for the tax exemption and abatement as set forth in §§ 480-6 and 480-7 of this article.
Notwithstanding § 480-3 of this article, such applicants for tax exemption and abatement for the construction of new commercial structures shall provide the governing body of the Borough with an application setting forth the following information:
A.
A general description of a project for which exemption and abatement
is sought;
B.
A legal description of all real estate necessary for the project;
C.
Plans, drawings and other documents as may be required by the governing
body of the Borough to demonstrate the structure and design of the
project;
D.
A description of the number, classes and type of employees to be
employed at the project site within two years of completion of the
project;
E.
A statement of the reasons for seeking tax exemption and abatement
on the project and a description of the benefits to be realized by
the applicant if the application is granted and a tax agreement entered
into;
F.
An estimate of the cost of completing such project, together with
the expected method or plan of financing the project;
G.
A projected time schedule for completing such project;
H.
A statement showing: a) the real property taxes currently being assessed
at the project site; b) the estimated tax payments that would be made
annually by the applicant on the project during the period of the
tax agreement; and c) the estimated tax payments that would be made
by the applicant on the project during the first full year following
the termination of the tax agreement;
I.
A description of any lease agreement between the applicant and proposed
users of the project and a history and description of the users'
businesses;
J.
A disclosure statement of the interests of all parties, including
subsidiary companies, in the project;
K.
The original signature of the applicant as notarized, accompanied
by a corporate resolution, if appropriate;
L.
The applicant's certification that it is a "qualified business" as defined by N.J.S.A. 52:27H-62 and that its new commercial structure to be constructed is located in the Urban Enterprise Zone as designated by as designated by Chapter 24, Urban Enterprise Zone, Article II, Designation Accepted, § 24-13 of the Code of the Borough of Roselle;
N.
Such other pertinent information as the governing body of the Borough
may require.
A.
Upon approval by the Mayor and Council, by ordinance, of an application submitted pursuant to § 480-6, the governing body of the Borough shall enter into a tax agreement requiring the applicant to pay the Borough, in lieu of full payment of property tax payments on the new construction, an amount equal to a percentage of taxes otherwise due according to the following schedule:
(1)
In the first full tax year after completion of the construction,
no payment in lieu of taxes otherwise due;
(2)
In the second tax year, an amount not less than 20% of taxes otherwise
due;
(3)
In the third tax year, an amount not less than 40% of taxes otherwise
due;
(4)
In the fourth tax year, an amount not less than 60% of taxes otherwise
due; and
(5)
In the fifth tax year, an amount not less than 80% of taxes otherwise
due.
B.
The tax agreement shall provide that the payment shall be billed
and collected in the same manner as any conventional taxes, and that
any arrearages shall accrue that rate of interest charged for delinquent
real estate taxes and shall be subject to foreclosure.
C.
The Borough Clerk shall forward a copy of all executed tax agreements
to the Director of the Division of Local Government Services in the
Department of Community Affairs within 30 days of the date of execution.
D.
In the event a qualified business subject to a tax agreement ceases
to operate or disposes of the property or fails to meet the condition
for qualifying for the exemption and abatement, the local property
taxes due for all of the prior years subject to exemption and abatement
and for the current year shall be payable as if no exemption had been
granted. The Mayor and Council shall notify the qualified business
and the Tax Collector. The Tax Collector shall forthwith notify the
qualified business within 15 days of the date of disqualification
of the amount of taxes due. In the event the subject property has
been transferred to a new owner and it is determined that the new
owner will continue to use the property pursuant to the qualifying
conditions, no tax shall be due, the exemption shall continue and
the tax agreement shall remain in effect.
E.
At the termination of the tax agreement, the property shall be subject
to all applicable real property taxes as provided by state law and
regulation and Borough ordinances.
A.
The Tax Assessor shall determine, on October 1 of the year following the date of the completion of an improvement or construction, the true value thereof. Except for properties subject to a tax agreement entered into according to §§ 480-6 and 480-7 of this article, the amount of tax to be paid for the tax year in which the improvement or construction is completed shall be based on the assessed valuation of the property for the current tax year, minus the amount of exemption and/or abatement, if any, allowed pursuant to this article, prorated, plus any portion of the assessed valuation of the improvement or construction not allowed pursuant to this article, also prorated. The property shall continue to be treated in the appropriate manner for each of the four tax years subsequent to the original determination of the Tax Assessor and shall be prorated for the final tax year in which the exemption and/or abatement expires.
B.
That percentage which the payment in lieu of taxes for properties subject to a tax agreement entered into according to §§ 480-6 and 480-7 of this article bears to the property tax which would have been paid had an exemption and abatement not been granted for the property under the tax agreement shall be applied to the valuation of the property to determine the reduced valuation of the property to be included in the valuation of the Borough for determining equalization for county tax apportionment and school aid during the term of the tax agreements for the properties. At the termination of a tax agreement for a property, the reduced valuation procedure required under this section shall no longer apply.
An additional improvement or construction completed to a property
already granted an exemption and/or abatement during the period in
which the exemption and/or abatement is in effect shall be eligible
for an additional exemption and/or abatement, just as if such property
had not received a previous exemption and/or abatement. The additional
improvement or construction shall be considered as separate for purposes
of calculating the exemption and/or abatement, except that the assessed
value of any previous improvement or construction shall be added to
the assessed valuation as it was prior to that improvement or construction,
for the purpose of determining the assessed value of the property
from which any additional exemption and/or abatement is to be subtracted.
No exemptions or abatements shall be granted for any property
for which property taxes or any other municipal charges are delinquent
or remain unpaid, or for which penalties for nonpayment are due.
The Tax Collector shall include an appropriate notice in the mailing of the annual property tax bills to each owner of property in the Urban Enterprise Zone, as designated by Chapter 24, Urban Enterprise Zone, Article II, Designation Accepted, § 24-13, of the Code of the Borough of Roselle, regarding the exemptions and/or abatements provided for pursuant to this article.
The Tax Assessor on behalf of Mayor and Council shall report,
on or before October 1 of each year, to the Director of the Division
of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs
and to the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department
of the Treasury the total amount of real property taxes exempted within
the Borough in the current tax year pursuant to this article for improvements
of commercial structures. As applies to the construction of new commercial
structures, the report shall state instead the total amount of payments
made in lieu of taxes according to the formula utilized by the Borough,
and the difference between that total amount and the total amount
of real property taxes which would have been paid on the project had
the tax agreement not been in effect, for the current tax year.
