City Grants LB840 Funds to Attitudes Apparel
The Fairbury City Council has voted unanimously to fund the installation of a
new HVAC system in the historic building located on the north side of the downtown
Square. The building, owned by Cheryl Schroeder, is listed in the National Register
of Historic Places as a contributing property in Fairbury's Downtown Historic
District and houses Attitudes
Apparel, a retail clothing store.
The injection of funds will enable Schroeder to make necessary improvements
to the building that will contribute to the overall value of the property and
also provide support that will enable her to operate more efficiently. "The
goal here is to retain the business and the jobs tied to it and this type of
expenditure will pay long term dividends to the community," according to
Don Trimm, councilmember, Ward I.
Legislative Bill 840 was passed to create the Local Option Municipal Economic
Development Act. An amendment to the Nebraska Constitution paved the way for
LB840 legislation. With voter approval of a local economic development plan and
specifically defined tax revenues, municipalities are allowed to use these public
funds for economic development purposes not otherwise allowed by statute, i.e.,
loans, grants, purchase of land and development of industrial sites, etc. Fairbury
voters approved their plan in 1998 and the tax that funds it. LB840 is used to
improve local job opportunities and expand the tax base. It is needed to remain
competitive with communities in other states that have similar authority for
economic development. LB840 allows a community to have more control of its future
by targeting how the economic development funds are spent through the voter approved
plan. Fairbury's LB840 economic development plans has performance requirements
and a nine-step application process.
For more information about Fairbury's LB840 program, contact Joe Parker, Fairbury City Administrator @ (402) 729-2476, Craig Eberle with SENDD, at (402) 475-2520 or Julie Lambert, Main Street Consulting Group at (402) 613-2063. |
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