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IDA proposes digitized application and review of fee structure; board asked for two-member working group
Summary
Agency staff presented a digitized IDA application form intended to streamline submissions and proposed revisiting fees (currently 10% of mortgage/sales tax savings and 1% of bond face value). Staff asked the board to appoint two members for a working group to refine fees and confidentiality handling.
Agency official presented a revised, digital version of the IDA application form and urged the board to consider modest changes to application fees and the way the agency documents material community benefits.
"One of the things we wanna do in this application is discuss with the board the possible increase in some of the financial fees that we're talking about, which are currently, 10% of any mortgage tax savings, and 1% of any bond issues," the presenter said, noting the current fees are low for the region. The presenter said the draft form includes improved project descriptions, questions about workforce development commitments and clearer environmental review fields aligned with state requirements.
Staff asked the board to identify two members to serve as a working group (not a quorum) to provide early input on fee structure and confidentiality questions before public distribution. Board members discussed whether initial circulation to all five board members by email would be permissible for internal comment; staff agreed to check legal constraints around pre-public draft distribution.
The board agreed in principle to a working approach: staff will send the draft to a small working group for initial edits, then share the revised draft with the full board for comment before public posting on the website. Staff emphasized that confidential application materials would be stored on the city server and not exposed publicly.
