Monroe County commissioners on Dec. 18 amended the county’s Economic Development Income Tax (EDIT) capital improvement plan to reflect Council-recommended edits, set a firm plan expiration and clarify how certain large projects are counted in required percentage calculations.

The board voted to approve an amended ordinance implementing the EDIT plan, which staff said reflects the county’s EDIT cash balance of $22,501,043.70 and estimated revenues of $24,692,724. The board accepted council-recommended edits including changing the plan’s expiration to Dec. 31, 2027, retitling an airport terminal project to “airport economic development projects,” and adjusting project ordering.

Why it matters: State law requires an EDIT plan to be in place to receive EDIT revenues and that the plan account for a minimum share of expected revenue over the plan’s life. Commissioners said the changes reconcile the plan with council recommendations and with current legislative constraints on how some projects can be financed.

What the board did: Commissioners discussed whether to list a large justice center project in the plan and how to account for it. Staff described two exhibit versions of the plan and the county council’s suggested amendments. Commissioner amendments included retaining a $225,000,000 figure for the justice center as a statement of intent while adding an asterisk clarifying the project is excluded from the plan-percentage calculations due to the current statutory financing framework. The board also approved renaming the airport item to allow broader airport-related economic development uses and discussed increasing transit funding to align with budgeted amounts.

Quotations from the meeting capture the debate’s tone. County council member Peter Iverson, who participated in the council work session, said the council “would prefer to keep the ‘and/or’ in the description” and asked for clearer project descriptions. A commissioner urged that project 1 be listed and annotated so the plan meets statutory requirements while signaling the county’s priorities.

What’s next: Commissioners said the amended plan can be further amended later if necessary and that the county will coordinate with council and staff to finalize exhibit numbering and dollar amounts. The board approved the amended ordinance by voice vote (motion carried 3–0).