County commission looking at modifying Neighborhood Revitalization Program

The goal of Jackson County’s Neighborhood Revitalization Program, which defers taxes on properties for five to seven years, is to repair or replace dilapidated structures in the county and should not be available for new builds on empty lots.

That’s the view of Jackson County Commissioners and Jackson County Counselor Lee Hendricks, who have been discussing the issue for the past few weeks as they consider amending the program.

In 2018, previous county commissioners reinstated the Neighborhood Revitalization Program in the county to offer tax rebates for improvements to commercial, industrial and residential properties. 

The program does not decrease the amount of county taxes but defers the taxes on the new improvements over a five or seven-year period.

Recently, the commissioners and Hendricks haven been reviewing some of the properties accepted into the program, which has included new builds.

“The intent of the plan was to repair, maintain or replace dilapidated structures in the county and not build new construction on empty lots,” Hendricks said.

The commissioners and Hendricks have discussed amending the program to not allow rebates on new construction on empty lots. Any previous applications approved for new construction would be grandfathered in, Hendricks said.

Commissioner Dan Brenner said he was concerned that the change might hinder economic development in the county moving forward.

The current plan offers seven years of tax rebates to eligible commercial and business properties with improvements valued at $15,000 or more. 

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