2014-007 - Approve amendments to the Paris Economic Development Corporation tax abatement policy.

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(Updated 2- 10 -14) Paris, Texas Economic Development Corporation POLICY STATEMENT CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR TAX ABATEMENT Inspections The agreement shall stipulate that employees and/ or designated representatives of the Taxing Jurisdictions will have access to the reinvestment zone during the term of the agreement to inspect the authorized facility to determine if the terms and conditions of the agreement are being met. All inspections will be made only after the giving of at least twenty -four (24) hours' prior notice and will only be conducted in such a manner as to not unreasonably interfere with the construction and /or operation of the authorized facility. All inspections will be made with one or more representatives of the company or individual and in accordance with its safety standards. Upon completion of construction, the Taxing Jurisdictions shall annually evaluate each authorized facility receiving abatement to ensure compliance with the agreement and report possible violations of the agreement to the Taxing Jurisdictions governing bodies. Modifications At any time before the expiration of an agreement made under these Policies, Criteria and of Agreement Guidelines, the agreement may be modified by the parties to the agreement to include other provisions that could have been included in the original agreement or to delete provisions that were contained in the original agreement. The modification must be made by the same procedure by which the original agreement was approved and executed. The original agreement, however, may not be modified to extend the term of the agreement or the term of the abatement granted therein beyond the time permitted by State law. Assignment An agreement may be assigned to a new owner or lessee of the authorized facility only with the prior written consent of the Taxing Jurisdictions. Any assignment shall provide that the assignee shall irrevocably and unconditionally assume all the duties and obligations of the assignor upon the same terms and conditions as set out in the agreement, and the Taxing Jurisdictions' approval shall be subject to the determination of the financial capability of such assignee. Any assignment of an agreement shall be to an entity that contemplates the same improvements or repairs to the property, except to the extent such improvements or repairs have been completed. No assignment shall be approved if the assignor or the assignee is indebted to the Taxing Jurisdictions for ad valorem taxes or other obligations, or if any event of default under the agreement remains uncured. Administration, I . The Paris EDC shall be primarily responsible for the administration, review, and monitoring Contract of tax abatement agreements authorized by the Taxing Jurisdictions under these Policies, Review, Criteria and Guidelines. These responsibilities shall include annually verifying participants in Monitoring and tax abatement agreements are in full compliance with the terms of the agreement. Reporting 2. The Paris EDC shall expeditiously advise the Taxing Jurisdictions in writing of any instances of contract non - compliance by tax abatement participants. In addition, the Paris EDC shall, on an annual basis, conduct a performance review of the activities of each tax abatement participant and report the findings of such review to the leadership and governing bodies of each taxing entity. 3. The Taxing Jurisdictions' governing bodies shall retain the right to independently review and audit the activities of tax abatement participants, and shall be responsible for enforcement of the terms of any tax abatement agreement authorized hereunder. 4. Annually the Paris EDC will report to each of the governing bodies on its monitoring and compliance activities and the status of all existing abatement agreements. 11