August 2003

Empire Zone Board To Consider Boundary Amendments

The Cortland County Empire Zone Administrative Board has set a deadline of September 30 to consider amendments to the county's Empire Zone. Businesses located outside of the Empire Zone who are planning a major investment or adding employees during 2004 should submit an application to the local Zone Board in advance of the September 30 deadline.

There are approximately 26 acres available outside of the City of Cortland which can be allocated for inclusion in Cortland's Empire Zone under the current New York State Empire Zone legislation which ends in June 2004. Cortland County is allowed to make only one Zone boundary amendment per year. The process takes approximately a six to nine months because of required local municipal and state approvals, so businesses need to plan well in advance of a project to take advantage of potential Zone benefits.

Because there is such limited acreage available outside of the City of Cortland, the local Zone Board will evaluate applications based on a project's impact on business development and job creation. Projects must enhance economic revitalization and benefit Zone residents. Priority will be given projects with a projected business investment of more than $250,000 and a resultant increase in employment. Manufacturing projects are given priority, along with high paying professional services. In 2003, the local Zone Board determined that retail projects would be discouraged because of limited acreage left in the county's land bank.

Boundary revision requests that are approved by the local Zone Board will be submitted to Empire State Development Corporation who has final approval authority.

A directory of Zone locations is available at the BDC. If a business is not currently in the Zone and wants to be considered for this boundary amendment round, it must make a formal application. Guidelines and application forms are available from Karen Niday, Empire Zone Coordinator, at the Cortland County BDC, 756-5005. To be eligible for the next year's round, forms must be received in the BDC office no later than September 30.

Empire Zones are designated areas throughout New York State consisting of a maximum of either two square miles, or 1,280 acres, that offer significant incentives to encourage economic development, business investment and job creation. Businesses operating inside a Zone are eligible for a range of tax benefits that are applied against new capital investments. Benefits include tax reduction credits, real property tax credits, sales tax exemptions, wage tax credits, and utility rate reductions, among others. The New York Empire Zone program is administrated by Empire State Development.