City commissioners agreed Tuesday to add a tax abatement question to the April 20 ballot to help businesses in the city.
The proposed property tax exemption, if approved by voters, would be used by the Bay Economic Development Alliance to attract new businesses to the area.
The tax exemption has been a tool that Bay EDA officials have previously relied on to attract businesses to Bay County and Panama City.
The tax exemption usually is added to the ballot every 10 years, but it slipped through the cracks for its latest renewal. It was voted on in 2009 and has since expired, so the city is bringing it back before the voters.
“It’s an attraction for business,” said Mayor Greg Brudnicki. “One of the ways you do that is offer a property tax incentive, which employs people.”
Bay EDA President Becca Hardin has been a champion of the tax incentive to attract businesses. Brudnicki said Hardin has been working on it for years and that she needs to battle other cities when it comes to incentives.
Even though a property tax incentive can help Panama City attract businesses, Brudnicki said there are other factors also in play.
“We’re in Florida. We have good weather. We have good quality of life here, so we try to use that to incentivize people,” he said. “At the same time, it comes down to dollars and cents, so you’ve got to do things that can compete with the beaches.”
The city had approved a tax temporarily after the abatement slipped through the cracks that businesses had to pay. If the abatement is approved in April, those businesses will get their money back.
