Council adopts new economic development incentive ordinance with scoring matrix; audit requirement included

Missouri City Council approved an ordinance that revises the city’s economic development incentive program under Texas Local Government Code Chapter 380. The revision creates two distinct incentive tracks — one for new development that emphasizes job creation and property-tax revenue, and one for redevelopment that places greater weight on location — and establishes a points-based matrix to evaluate applications. Applications that score 60 points or more will be referred to the city’s Economic Development Committee for consideration and potential referral to council.

Staff described the revision as an effort to standardize and make more objective the review of incentive requests. Key changes include a consolidated restaurant and patio program, a three‑year limitation on repeat incentives for the same property (reduced from five years following committee discussion), and new documentation expectations (for example, financial statements and commitments tied to scoring categories). The ordinance includes a direction to institute an annual audit of incentive outcomes: staff must report increases in property tax and sales-tax revenue associated with funded projects and other outcome metrics to support future program decisions.

Economic Development staff and committee members said the matrix should streamline application review and provide clearer criteria for awarding taxpayer-funded incentives. Council members emphasized the need for documented returns on investment and recommended staff track results and present audits annually to the council. The ordinance passed unanimously on first reading; staff said a full implementation and outreach plan will begin once the second-reading ordinance is adopted.