EASTON, Pa. — Northampton County Council learned Tuesday that it will need to hold new hearings on a tax break supporting redevelopment of the former Dixie Cup factory in Wilson.
The county previously held hearings on an ordinance creating a tax increment financing program to help turn the long-abandoned former factory near 25th Street into 405 market-rate apartments.
The financing program would let developer Skyline Investment Group essentially take out a $29 million loan, in the form of a bond, against future property taxes the completed project will generate.
“The taxing body that’s creating the district by ordinance – in this case, the county – is the last to act."
Jonathan Cox, bond counsel for developer Skyline Investment Group
Over the term of the bond, the landowner still pays taxes on the property's pre-construction value to the county, borough and school district. Taxes levied on the newly finished building, however, go to pay down the loan.
A lawyer for the developer, Jonathan Cox, told council it can't act on the county’s part of the financing program until the other two municipalities who levy taxes on the property — Wilson and Wilson Area School District — approve theirs, citing state law governing TIF programs.
“The taxing body that’s creating the district by ordinance — in this case, the county — is the last to act,” Cox said. “For better or worse, that’s the way the law was crafted.”
As a result, the body will need to start the process over from the beginning once the borough and school district act, including holding a new public hearing on the proposal.
While an ordinance establishing the TIF program will still appear on the council’s June 4 agenda, members will table the measure, council president Lori Vargo Heffner said.