The Minden City Council will meet in special session Tuesday morning to begin moving forward with the Tax Increment Financing districts for the City of Minden.
Minden Economic Development Director James Graham says the meeting will focus on matters relating to the TIF districts in the push to grow economic development for the City of Minden.
The TIF districts are economic development incentives to draw business into Minden and support existing businesses within the district.
On the agenda is an engagement letter between the City of Minden and Adams and Reese LLP, which is the law firm that will provide legal services as the city creates four TIF districts.
“It is the letter of hire,” he said.
The engagement letter outlines the services the law firm will provide for the city, such as the preparation and review of resolutions and ordinances necessary in connection with the creation of the TIF districts, certifications with the city clerk’s office, and coordinating with the Webster Parish Registrar of Voter’s Office and the Webster Parish Tax Assessor’s Office and the Department of Public Safety if necessary. They will also assist the city with all cooperative endeavor agreements relating to the use and allocation of tax revenues in the districts.
The council will also consider the cooperative endeavor agreement with the Webster Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau, which will support the endeavors of the city with the TIF districts as it relates to tourism and tourism investors.
“The agreement is basically a partnership in terms of the TIF, and we will share in all the legal costs associated with the creation of the TIF,” he said. “We have a cap of $30,000 to spend.”
Also on the agenda is an engagement letter of the Industrial Development Board, which is about Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or the PILOT program, Graham said.
“We talked about this in the last workshop we had,” he said. “PILOT is the other incentive. By law, you have to have the board associated with the PILOT.”
This engagement letter is also with Adams and Reese LLP, and they will assist in the creation of the industrial development board for the PILOT. The law firm will also provide representation of the IDB and preparation of any documentation relating to the use of the IDB in connection with the PILOT agreement, taxable or tax-exempt bonds, and/or other incentives.
The city council will meet at 10 a.m., Tuesday, May 17, in the Pelican Conference Room at Minden City Hall, located at 520 Broadway Street.