Residential improvements might receive tax abatements

The Fairfield City Council Economic Development Committee and Ways and Means Committee are holding special meetings to reevaluate business and residential tax breaks for property improvements.

Currently commercial and industrial buildings are eligible for three years of tax exemption on a maximum of $40,000 in renovations. The goal of the program is to create incentives for citizens to grow their businesses, stimulating the economy.

City law stipulates that applicants must increase the footprint, or square footage of their property, and residences are not included.

But after the county assessor recently approved the remodel of an existing commercial space at the Goodwill on West Burlington Ave., the city is rethinking how it defines building improvements.

?The owners used an existing structure, and because it was a complete tear down the assessor saw that as new construction,? said Ways and Means committee member Daryn Hamilton.

Committee members are also in favor of once again offering residential tax abatements. Last time homeowners could take advantage of the abatement for adding value to their properties was in 2004.

?The consensus of the committees is if we can offer residential tax abatements we should,? said Hamilton.

City administrator Kevin Flanagan has had success with such programs, said Hamilton.

?Our city administrator has used it as a tool extensively,? said Hamilton.

At Monday?s council meeting councilmember Connie Boyer said the city closed the program because of a lack of interest.

?They were going to build whether there was an abatement or not,? she said.

But Hamilton said he for one would have utilized the program if he had known about it.

?When we [he and his wife] built our new home in Fairfield 14 years ago we had not idea it was available to us,? said Hamilton. ?No one said anything to us about a possible tax abatement.?

The committees will meet with the assessor at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall to discuss who should qualify for abatements and possible changes to the paperwork required.