Incentive Programs/Funding Sources

City of Lincoln is committed to helping your business grow and thrive in our community. We are put customer service first and have knowledgeable and creative staff to assist your business. We will work to tailor an incentive program based on the project needs. The following is a list of the incentives provided through the City, County, State and other partners.

CITY OF LINCOLN PROGRAMS

Current Fee Deferral Program. The City will consider the deferral of permit fees for industrial and commercial projects until the final inspection, first utility meter, or 6 months after issuance of the Certificate of Completion. Residential permits can defer up to 12 months. City Council may consider a longer deferral period depending on the type of project and its capital investment, employment, or potential sales tax generation.

Expedited Permit Review. The City can schedule pre-application meetings to review project submittal requirement, discuss project review process, provide fee estimates and identify critical project components to assist in streamlining the review process. The City Planning Staff will quickly review applications and identify any additional information needed to process the application, identify any major issues, provide a project review schedule, and assemble comments from other Department such as Fire and Public Works.

Project Assistance – Development Coordination. Economic Development staff has extensive knowledge about the community and available properties for sale or lease. We can quickly provide you a list of available properties to meet your site criteria. The City has the latest demographic, trend and market data. We can provide tours and introductions to key officials and business leaders as needed.

Flexible Zoning. Economic Development and Planning Division staff will work with you in a collaborative way to meet zoning and permit requirements while allowing you to meet your project goals.

STATE & COUNTY PROGRAMS

Tax Exempt Financing. The use of low-cost, tax-exempt industrial development bonds (IDB) financing is available for capital expenditures. The IDB program allows businesses to borrow funds at competitive rates below conventional financing through the issuance of tax-exempt bonds supported by some form of credit enhancement (e.g. a bank –issued letter of credit) or placed with a qualified institutional investors. IDB’s may be used for the following products:

• Industrial projects assembling, fabricating, manufacturing or processing which create tangible products for sale;

• Manufacturing projects which use recycled or reused products and materials to create products;

• Agricultural projects which process raw materials into products for resale.

Eligible Uses include:

• Building and equipment

• Machinery and furnishings

• Land

• Costs of architects, engineers, and permits

• Cost of bond issuance

Impact Fee and Public Improvement Financing. The Statewide Community Infrastructure Program (SCIP) allows 30-year tax-exempt bond financing on eligible permit fees and public improvements for a development project. Assessment districts are established on a parcel-by-parcel basis and payments are made twice a year with property tax payments. Owners of small projects may participate in SCIP because multiple projects across the State are combined into a single bond issuance. This lowers the cots in individual projects. SCIP is administered by the California Statewide Communities Development Authority (CDCDA). CDCA handles all district formation, administration, bond issuance and bond administration.

Small Business Loans. Long programs are available to help reduce the cost of operating a business. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans are issued in conjunction with local lenders and Certified Development Companies:

• SBA 504 Program – SBA’S long term, fixed rate loan guarantee program essentially functions as a second mortgage for commercial real estate. Use of funds is limited to land, buildings, equipment and heavy assets. The first mortgage is may be a private financing institution (50% of the project) and a non-profit Certified Development Company issues a second mortgage, guaranteed by SBA for 40% of the project cost.

• SBA7 (a) Program – Provided fixed rate fully amortized financing with terms up to twenty years. This program may be used for working capital, inventory, equipment/machinery, furniture/fixtures, and supplies/materials.

Employment & Training Assistance. The Employment Training Panel (ETP) is a business and labor supported state agency that provides grant funds to offset the costs of job skills training necessary for both existing and new employees. Companies participating in ETP select the training method and curriculum. Fixed Fee hourly training reimbursement grants may fund different hours of training for individual employees up to $ 26 per hour for businesses with less than 100 employees in a priority industry. Priority industries include:

• Manufacturing

• Green Technology

• Nursing and Allied Healthcare

• Construction

• Goods movement and Transportation Logistics

• Information Technology Services

• Biotechnology and Life Sciences

• Multimedia and Entertainment

• Agriculture

Help to Hire. Placer County’s program is a subsidized wage reimbursement program. The program reimburses up to $6,000 of the paid wages for hiring a Placer County CalWORKS participant. The reimbursement is available for up to six months.

Work Opportunity Tax Credit. Placer County's program offers a reduction in the federal tax liability of up to $9600 per year by hiring employees from eligible target groups that have significant barriers to employment entry. Eligible persons include veterans, SNAP recipients, ex-felons, supplemental security income recipients, summer youth employees, etc. The employee must work at least 120 hours per year.

Foreign Trade Zone Subzones. An FTZ Subzone is an area where foreign and domestic merchandise is considered to be outside the U.S. Customs territory. Certain types of merchandise can be imported into a Subzone without going through formal Customs entry procedures or paying import duties. Customs duties and excise taxes are due only at the time of a transfer from the FTZ for U.S. Consumption. Operating within an FTZ Subzone carries several benefits:

• Delayed tariff payments on imported products;

• Choice of finished product tariff rate for goods, further processed inside the FTZ, subject to public interest consideration;

• Complete tariff avoidance if products are exported directly from the FTZ or if products are assembled, packaged and then exported;

• Payment of duties only on the value of the foreign components, not on labor overhead, or profit;

• Exemption form state/local inventory taxes on foreign merchandise;

• Potentially lower insurance premiums;

• Temporary or complete avoidance of quota restrictions

Recycling Market Development Zone (RMDZ). The Placer County RMDZ offers an incentive package that includes: attractive loans, marketing money, and technical assistance to encourage manufacturers of using post consumer materials that would normally end up in the landfill. The RDMZ Focus is on diverting and developing sustainable markets for this priority materials. Loans for up to 75% of an eligible project cost not to exceed $2 million can be granted for machinery and equipment, working capital, real estate up to $1 million, improvements, and debt refinancing. Priority materials for product development include: demolition debris, plastics, organics, and paper. Eligible projects include: waste prevention; reuse; recycling; composting; anaerobic digestion.