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Staff updates council on downtown code enforcement and previews proposed changes to 3-12 tax abatement policy
Summary
Staff briefed council on a proactive downtown code-enforcement sweep, outcomes and economic activity; in a separate work session economic development staff previewed proposed 3-12 tax abatement policy revisions to strengthen workforce requirements, reporting and oversight ahead of a September 2026 review.
City staff updated the council on the downtown proactive code enforcement program and then presented proposed approaches to revise the city's 3-12 tax abatement policy to increase workforce accountability and oversight.
The downtown update included maps of the Central Business District enforcement area, a status report on properties tagged since the sweep began in March 2024, and a count of recent economic activity: the city has issued new certificates of occupancy and hosted predevelopment meetings. Staff noted some properties remain red‑tagged as unsafe for habitation and that municipal court cases have been filed for unresolved violations.
In a subsequent work session, Jess Prince reviewed the 3-12 tax abatement policy ahead of a required biennial review in September 2026. Prince said staff is exploring measures to strengthen local hiring commitments, increase quarterly compliance reporting, require apprenticeships and include community-impact and competitive-siting narratives in applications. She cited examples from peer jurisdictions—Waco, Harris County, Dallas and San Antonio—where agreements include minimum local-hire percentages, apprenticeship hours, living-wage tiers and dedicated account language for training and supportive services.
Prince told council the city receives a sizable portion of general fund revenue from industrial agreements and recommended applying the updated application and reporting requirements to industrial district agreements as well. Councilmembers and staff discussed options for additional oversight, possible use of the audit committee, and next steps to draft specific policy language for September consideration.
