Glossary of Terms
Bonds – issued in the name of the IDA, but not an obligation of the IDA.
- Taxable Bond– for profit non-manufacturing projects
- Tax Exempt Bond– for manufacturing project qualified under IRS Tax Code. Bondholder is able to exclude the interest income from federal income tax.
CDBG – Community Development Block Grant. Funds received by Monroe County from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. A portion of the allocation is set aside for economic development projects. Loans or loans to grants are allocated for business projects.
CHOICE – Core Housing Owner Incentive Exemption Program – For the creation of market-rate / owner-occupied residential units in the Center City District.
CUE – Commercial Urban Exemption Program offers tax exemptions for mixed-use conversion projects in the City of Rochester’s Center City District.
Enhanced JobsPlus – Tax abatement program offered through COMIDA which abates property taxes on a sliding scale over a 10 year period. To qualify for this program, investment must be at least $15 Million and 100 new jobs must be created.
EAF – An Environmental Assessment Form (EAF) is filled out in conjunction with a COMIDA application to determine the impact of the project on the environment. Approval typically goes through the affected taxing jurisdiction and a finding is issued
ESD – Empire State Development. New York State’s Department of Economic Development which works with COMIDA on larger economic development projects.
FOIL – Freedom of Information Law. Records of public agencies are subject to public inspection under FOIL. A formal request must be submitted to COMIDA in order to request inspection of documents and files. All FOIL requests are reviewed by counsel.
GML – General Municipal Law. IDAs were formed under Article 18-A of the New York State GML.
GRE – Greater Rochester Enterprise. A public/private partnership established to professionally market the Rochester Metropolitan Area as a competitive, high-profile region for business location and growth.
Green JobsPlus – Tax abatement program offered through COMIDA which abates taxing on a sliding scale over a 14 year period in return for a 10% increase in jobs, provided the building meets LEED certification.
JobsPlus – Tax abatement program offered through COMIDA which abates property taxes on a sliding scale over a 10 year period in return for a 10% increase in jobs created over a 3 year period.
Lease/Leaseback – IDA transaction in which no bond is issued. This is a means for the IDA to take nominal title to exempt the project from sales tax, mortgage tax and offer a PILOT.
LeasePlus – Tax abatement offered through COMIDA which abates property taxes for projects for use by a college or university, or medical related facility in which a 501 (c) 3 leases from a for-profit entity.
LEED Certification – Designation by the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design pertaining to a buildings impact on the environment.
Local Labor – Labor from Monroe County or any of the following 8 counties (Genesee, Livingston, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming or Yates).
MCIDC – Monroe County Industrial Development Corporation. Certified Development Corporation managed by County Economic Development which administers SBA 504 loans, GreatRate, GreatRebate and a revolving loan fund, and several other programs.
Negative Declaration (neg. dec.) – determination that a project will not have a negative impact on the environment. This is part of the SEQRA process.
PILOT – Payment In Lieu Of Taxes. A negotiated agreement between the IDA and the benefited company to make tax payment at a reduced rate over time to affected taxing jurisdictions where a project is located.
Public Hearing – The GML requires IDA to hold a public hearing in the affected tax jurisdiction should the benefits of the project be in excess of $100,000. The IDA must give at least a ten day notice of the public hearing and a notice must be provided to the CEO of the affected tax jurisdiction.
RLF – Revolving loan fund.
Section 485-B – Real property tax law, at local option, authorizes a declining 10 year partial exemption from real property taxes and special ad valorem levies for non-residential property. An investment of at $10,000 is required.
SEQRA – State Environmental Quality Review Act. By state law, before an IDA can provide benefits to a project (typically a construction project), the project must be reviewed (typically by a town which acts as the lead agency) to determine the impact of the project on the environment. A finding is issued by the lead agency.
Shelter Rent PILOT – Payment in Lieu of Tax agreement for low income or student housing in which PILOT payments are determined using a formula of gross rents collected less utilities times 10%.
SBA 504 – Federal program administered by MCIDC which allows a company to finance a project (building or equipment) by investing 10% of the project as equity. The remainder of the financing comes from a bank (50%) and SBA debenture proceeds (40%).