Heber City plans to create a community reinvestment area (CRA) to help breathe new life into a downtown that has long struggled with U.S. 40 highway traffic and big chains outnumbering local businesses.
The proposal involves a tax increment funding plan. It would allocate 75% of property tax dollars from new development within the CRA for reinvestment into downtown until reaching a certain dollar threshold or time limit. For the county, that limit would be $4.2 million or 20 years, whichever happens sooner.
It’s similar to the financial agreement between Wasatch County and the Military Installation Development Authority.
Heber has spent about three years asking neighboring governments, including Wasatch County and the Wasatch County School District, to help out with the CRA. County manager Dustin Grabau says the city has worked to make the proposal more appealing to the county since it first pitched the CRA, including sharing specific project plans.
The Wasatch County Council is almost ready to make a decision, but first, it wants to hear from locals. There’s a public hearing at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the county administration building.
“The public can come express any thoughts or concerns that they might have associated with it, and the council can use that when they decide whether or not the county will or will not participate in the CRA,” Grabau said.
Details on the proposed reinvestment area are available on a website created by the city.
