Government Digest 12/04/09

Port Manatee TIF
MANATEE COUNTY — In hopes of attracting new business, the county commission established the Port Manatee Improvement District Nov. 17 — a tax-increment-finance (TIF) district — and will serve as its governing body.

The TIF district enables the county to reinvest revenues collected from future property value increases in the zone to fund port-related economic development activities such as infrastructure and capital improvement projects.

District boundaries begin at the coastline of Tampa Bay on the west including Port Manatee, to just east of Interstate 75, south to approximately Buckeye Road and north to the Manatee-Hillsborough county line. The TIF district complements the Port Manatee Encouragement Zone — nearly 5,000 acres of privately-owned, developable land just outside the port. The encouragement zone offers incentives to entice major shippers and developers seeking sites for
distribution centers, warehouses and other related facilities. Incentives include: