Council approves urban renewal amendment to back 12‑unit developer rebate

Manchester’s City Council voted to amend the city’s urban renewal plan to permit a development agreement with a local developer for a 12‑unit apartment complex and to make available an incremental tax rebate linked to that project. The council adopted resolution 81 after a brief public hearing and council discussion.

Tim, a city staff member who presented the proposal, told the council the amendment is required to spell out how tax‑increment financing would be used and described the proposed developer incentive as “a 10‑year 85% tax rebate” on the eligible incremental portion of property taxes, with ineligible levies such as certain county and school levies removed under Iowa law. He said the rebate would return to the developer 85% of the eligible increment while the developer continues to pay the full tax bill.

No members of the public spoke during the hearing. Several councilmembers compared the proposed 85/10 split to a previously discussed 80/20 structure; one member said they preferred the 80/20 approach but would support the 85% rebate in this instance. The council then voted to adopt the amendment; recorded affirmative votes included Joe, Mary Ann, Linda, Brian and Bill.

The amendment moves the city one step closer to negotiating a development agreement. Council later set a public hearing (resolution 82) for August 26 at 5:00 p.m. to consider the developer contract and any annual‑appropriation tax‑increment payments tied to that agreement. According to staff, the city must remove net service and some capital levies from the increment calculation under Iowa code, so the rebate applies only to the eligible portion of taxes.

What’s next: the council scheduled the development‑agreement hearing; if the contract proceeds, the developer would receive rebate payments only on the eligible increment and for the period specified in the executed agreement.