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Two Perry County cities seek incentives

By Adam Testa, The Southern

Wednesday, January 30, 2008 7:00 AM CST

Economic development remains at the forefront in Perry County, an area hit hard with economic downturns and losses in recent years.

Both the Pinckneyville and Du Quoin city councils set public hearing dates for proposed development incentives at their respective meetings Monday.

The Pinckneyville council plans to pursue the creation of a Business District, while Du Quoin has been working on a Tax Increment Financing zone plan. Both cities have been working with the St. Louis-based organization Economic Development Resources on the projects.

Gene Norber, the company's president, attended Monday's meeting in Pinckneyville to address the council and audience on issues pertaining to the Business District option, which he called a relatively new economic incentive tool.

The district will be funded with an additional 1-percent sales tax applied to goods and services sold within the district, Norber said. Exemptions to the tax include titled vehicles, medication and medical supplies and general grocery items.

"The business district revenues will pay for district activities," he said, adding it would be a good fit with the city's TIF program.

Mayor Joseph Holder said the district will be aimed at attracting businesses offering goods and services not available in the city as well as offering redevelopment opportunities for businesses already there if they extend product offerings.

One specific example Holder gave pertained to motor vehicles and automobiles. The city where these items are purchased receives 1 percent of the product's retail value in the form of sales tax. The mayor used the example that each $20,000 car sold would bring in $200 in additional tax revenue. Estimating an average of 1,500 cars in the city, he said the city has about $300,000 of sales tax sitting in its driveways that has gone to other cities.

"It's an erosion of our sales tax," Holder said. "That's one of the reasons, not the only reason, the city is financially struggling."

In Du Quoin, the process of establishing the TIF district that will encompass most of the downtown area has been coming together as well as the council hoped for, said Commissioner Rex Duncan.

"A lot of folks are really committed in the long run to revitalizing downtown, and I think this is an important step in getting that done," Duncan said.

The Du Quoin council approved the creation of a joint review board that will serve as an overseer of the TIF funds, Duncan said. Members of the board will come from various taxing bodies involved in the process.

adam.testa@thesouthern.com  

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