Approval Date: March 2, 2009 - Updated June 18, 2018
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance for the City of St. Charles’ (the “City”) use
of financial assistance for development activities. These guidelines establish a framework by which financial incentive requests can be reviewed and evaluated in an objective fashion. For this evaluation, the City will use the criteria indicated in this policy.
It is imperative to maintain and encourage a strong and positive business climate in the City, but this must be done in tandem with cautious review of the long-term financial implications, as well as potential community-wide impacts. As a matter of policy, the City of St. Charles will consider using incentives to assist private developments only in those circumstances in which the proposed private projects show a demonstrated financial gap or where significant amounts of sales tax revenue will be realized. This policy identifies the provisions in the proposed economic incentive to be considered by the City.
It is the intention of the City of St. Charles to review all requests for financial assistance on a case-by-case basis. Proposed agreements to share revenue or costs of improvements must be carefully considered on an individual basis—upon the merits of each situation. It is not the intention of the City to use revenue sharing or incentives to relocate points of sale from neighboring communities or to allow such requests to induce a bidding war for City funds.
It is the intent of the City to provide the minimum amount of assistance to make the project viable. The provision of financial assistance is at the sole discretion of the City. The City reserves the right to reject or approve projects on a case-by-case basis, taking into account established policies, specific project criteria, and the demand on City services in relation to the potential benefits to be received from the proposed project. Meeting policy guidelines or other criteria does not guarantee the award of assistance. Furthermore, the approval or denial of one project is not intended to set a precedent for approval or denial of another project. The City’s decision to participate in any agreement should be viewed as a contribution that will aid growth and add long-term value to the community.
