Potter County Commissioners are moving forward with a new Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) tax abatement program to support job growth and economic development.
LERTA, created by the state legislature in 1977, authorizes local taxing authorities (counties, school districts and boroughs/townships) to provide real estate tax reduction for owners of commercial property, under specific conditions. Case studies confirm that the temporary tax exemption is a helpful tool that incentivizes new construction or expansion by employers.
“Adopting a LERTA ordinance supports not only a major goal identified in the Potter County Comprehensive Plan 2020-29, but also the goals of Project 2025 and our most recent initiative, Revitalize Potter County,” said board chair Nancy Grupp.
Under a LERTA ordinance, the county portion of a qualifying property’s real estate tax is reduced for a set number of years at a predetermined percentage. Potter County’s draft ordinance calls for a five-year incentive period -- 100-percent abatement for the first taxable year, descending to 80, 60, 40 and 20 percent over the next four years.
School districts and boroughs/townships that opt to establish a LERTA program could use the same terms as the county’s or could instead adopt their own duration and percentage of tax reduction.
The commissioners have been conferring with County Solicitor Tom Shaffer, Chief Assessor Jake Ostrom, and other county officials to map out the geographic boundaries for the tax incentive, public comment period and implementation process. The board has already received a letter of support for a LERTA ordinance from the North Central Penn Board of Realtors.