The Tax and Finance Committee recommended that the full county board approve an annexation of about 640 acres into the county's enterprise zone, a change the presenter said would make sites eligible for property-tax abatements and sales-tax exemptions to encourage redevelopment and new construction.

The presenter said the annexation includes a one-square-mile area along Heritage Avenue where the city has constructed a street and where the county anticipates requests for duplex and multifamily development. The annexation packet also includes individual parcels proposed by private property owners and a site proposed by Rue Hall Trailer Sales to locate a new business in the village of Teutopolis.

The presenter provided a parcel-based breakdown of land classifications inside the proposed boundary: about 176 acres classified residential or vacant (including roughly 90 acres vacant residential), 146 acres classified commercial, about 180 acres rural unimproved land on the city fringe, and smaller amounts of industrial, institutional and other categories. The presenter said one apartment complex near the hospital is waiting for the enterprise-zone decision before proceeding.

The presenter outlined the incentives available if properties are included in the enterprise zone: three years of property-tax abatement for commercial and new multifamily projects, five years for new single-family homes, and seven years for industrial projects; abatements apply to increases above the base assessed value. The presenter also said projects could use a sales-tax exemption on permanently affixed building materials for projects with construction costs over $50,000.

Committee members asked about the zone's remaining capacity; the presenter said the county would have about 4 square miles left of capacity after the annexation and was not at risk of exceeding a 20-square-mile maximum. The committee voted to send the annexation request to the full board for approval; the presenter said she would seek city approval in August and then forward the approved materials to the state.

No formal approval from the state was granted at the meeting; the committee action is a recommendation to the county board to proceed with the annexation process.