DEPARTMENT: Economic Development
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Rene Dominguez
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City-wide
SUBJECT:
Adoption of the City of San Antonio Tax Abatement Guidelines (Tax Abatement Guidelines) effective from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2020.
SUMMARY:
Chapter 312 of the Texas Tax Code provides local governments the authority to enter into tax abatement agreements to promote the attraction of new companies and the retention and expansion of existing businesses to create jobs and investment. State law requires the adoption of the Tax Abatement Guidelines by City Council every two years. Recommended updates to the proposed 2019-2020 guidelines include a newly formed targeted geography, increased transparency in Targeted Industry project scoring, opportunities for corporate partnerships in support of SA Tomorrow policy goals, and introduction of the new Upskill Project category. Staff is recommending an Ordinance adopting the 2019-2020 Tax Abatement Guidelines.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
San Antonio has seen strong growth and has enjoyed a number of accolades from national publications and think tanks for our overall economic performance, entrepreneurial growth, and millennial population growth. San Antonio has also seen record low unemployment in recent quarters, as well as stable job growth in targeted industries per the recent SA2020 Impact Report.
Despite this strong economic growth, educational attainment rates and wage levels still remain below state and national averages. Additionally, when elements such as unemployment are disaggregated along lines of geography, race, and education level, the growth in job opportunities and the seemingly broad pathway to prosperity narrows for large portions of San Antonio's population. According to the Economic Innovation Group's 2017 Distressed Communities Index (DCI), Bexar County ranked 14th in the United States in total number of people living in distressed zip codes estimated at 412,000 or...
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