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County Recovery Zone Facility Bond Program to Help Create Jobs
Commentary by Craig Lehman, Lancaster County Commissioner
The
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was enacted to help
avert another Great Depression and to help us recover from the Great
Recession by creating and retaining jobs. Under ARRA, Lancaster County
received a Recovery Zone Facility Bond allocation totaling $14,137,000
to provide tax-exempt financing for economic development projects.
Typically, economic development projects are funded with taxable bonds
which come with higher interest rates.
Lancaster
County received the largest allocation in Pennsylvania which was
determined by federal formula based on the percentage change in our
unemployment rate from December 2007 through December 2008. The
allocation must be used prior to January 1, 2011 unless extended by
Congress.
Earlier
this year, the Board of Commissioners, partnering with the Economic
Development Company (EDC) Finance Corporation and the Lancaster County
Housing and Redevelopment Authority (LCHRA), established the Recovery
Zone Facility Bond Program to help create jobs and spur private
investment in Lancaster County for bank-financed economic development
projects. With assistance from the Lancaster County Planning
Commission staff, the County designated existing urban and village
growth areas as the Recovery Zone.
EDC
Finance Corporation is administering and marketing the program and the
LCHRA is the conduit issuer. The County has final approval on all
projects however it bears no financial liability for the program. If a
project defaults, all financial obligations remain with the private
borrower.
With the
economy beginning to show signs of improvement, Lancaster County, with
the help of EDC Finance Corporation and the LCHRA, is well-positioned
with the Recovery Zone Facility Bond Program to help create jobs and
spur private investment throughout the County which can only have a
positive impact on our local economy.
Comment on this
Commentary - Comments should be directed to Ken Ralph, Editor of
LCDC Media at his
email address. Comments
will be posted here.
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