LEWISTON – Lewiston cleaned up some of its economic development tools Tuesday.
Councilors got rid of a $250 application fee for businesses applying for Tax Increment Financing help from the city and made an annual 1 percent fee optional. Councilors also got rid of some language in their non-compete protocol agreement with the City of Auburn.
Greg Mitchell, assistant city administrator, said the Auburn City Council will be asked to adopt the same agreements.
“This is part of the agreement we have with Auburn that says we will work together for the better of the area, rather than work against each other,” Mitchell said.
One section of the protocol simply prohibits either city from recruiting businesses from the other. That clause currently requires businesses seeking to move across the river to write a letter saying they are not trying to expand where they are.
Mitchell said the TIF fees were rarely charged by either city.
“We still have the option of charging a fee,” Mitchell said. “If it’s a very complicated deal, we’ll still charge that fee,” Mitchell said.
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