A municipality’s ability to impose labor requirements as a condition of a tax break was recently called into question by a federal appeals court decision. In an apparent “first impression” opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that the City of Jersey City is acting as a regulator, not a market participant, when it enforces its property tax abatement ordinance. (Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. New Jersey Chapter et als. v. City of Jersey City, Docket No. 2-14-cv-05445). This ruling could have a significant effect on whether municipalities can adopt ordinances tying property tax exemptions or other incentives to requirements such as PLAs. The decision arguably could even have a ripple effect on state or locally-imposed prevailing wage and affirmative action requirements tied to the granting of incentives.
Continue Reading Municipal Ordinances Requiring Developers to Enter Into Project Labor Agreements as Condition of Tax Exemption May Be in Jeopardy
NEW ARTICLE: New Jersey’s Version of Tax Increment Financing – Known As “ERGG” – Successfully Closing Construction Financing Gaps on Projects across the State
AIM – Apartment Industry Magazine | By Ted Zangari and Cecilia I. Lassiter
New Jersey’s residential “ERGG” program enacted in 2013 has been so successful that some “buckets” of the allocated $600 million in tax credits are empty and others are quickly depleting. However, a prominent legislator recently introduced a bill to re-fund and recalibrate