Solicitor briefs board on LERDA tax-abatement option tied to Eli Lilly site; board asks for options and revenue estimates

Solicitor Jessica Moyer introduced a LERDA briefing to the board and said Upper Macungie Township had established a LERDA for the proposed Eli Lilly manufacturing campus on March 5. Matt Anderson, who provided the technical overview, described how a locally adopted LERDA can create an abatement on new assessed value for up to 10 years and that each taxing authority (school district, county, municipality) can decide whether to join and set its own schedule.

"What it does is it creates up to a 10 year tax abatement," Anderson said while outlining common schedules and how abatement percentages typically decline year-to-year. He also noted that some local examples follow a 10-year, 10%-declining schedule and that districts can adopt shorter schedules (3 or 5 years) or different percentage schedules.

Multiple board members raised procedural and policy questions. One board member asked whether the Lilly parcels truly meet the statute's references to "deteriorated" or blighted areas; Anderson replied that the municipal determination controls but is subject to appeal. Members also asked who requested the LERDA (township, developer or company), what the district would forgo in revenue, and whether Eli Lilly and state incentives (press reports have cited roughly $100 million in state grants) change the local calculus. Administration said the presentation was informational and recommended returning to committee in April with tax-estimate scenarios (e.g., 10-year at 10% decline, 5-year, 3-year) and, if desired, arranging a workshop and direct conversations with company representatives.

No vote was taken. Board members asked the administration to prepare revenue/foregone-revenue estimates for options and to bring those analyses back to committees before any resolution or formal vote.