Kansas City Fakes Tax Break Reform

Here's an objective explainer of how a new process might work for those who still believe in local Democracy. 

More likely . . . Backdoor politics will continue to rule this process.

The basics . . .

The ordinance lays out checklists of benefits desired from residential, office and industrial projects. A proposal would have to provide all of those benefits corresponding with its asset type to be eligible for subsidies.

A project's location then would determine its incentive amount, based on the city's tiered approach to target project types.

Either the city's Finance Department or a local incentive-granting agency — depending on the project — could evaluate an application and verify its eligibility for standard incentives.

Contingent on that finding, City Manager Brian Platt or a designee then could administratively sign off on the incentive application, without public hearings before local agencies or the City Council, where incentive-seeking developers must appear under existing processes.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Kansas City wants to revamp how it awards incentives. Here's an early look at how that would work - Kansas City Business Journal

Kansas City officials say a proposal for standard incentive packages for qualifying projects will create efficiency for developers while guaranteeing specific local benefits. However, some local groups have pushed back with concerns about potential lost opportunities for public engagement. Amid this debate, here's how the proposal would function in its current form.