With official state certification of the Harvard-Woodstock enterprise zone, the cities and county can start actively looking to enhance projects within the zone starting Friday, Mark Saladin said.
Saladin, who is on the oversight board for the zone, said the zone offers various tax incentives for businesses at the local and state levels.
"We have the abilities to provide an incentive that could make or break someone's decision to locate in Woodstock or Harvard," Saladin said.
In November 2014, Woodstock and Harvard officials decided to work together with McHenry County to apply for the enterprise zone. The area for the zone covers commercial areas in Woodstock and Harvard, and is connected by Route 14.
Although the enterprise zone was approved by the state in August, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity announced it could not certify the 49 approved enterprise zones in the state because of the ongoing budget impasse in Illinois.
It wasn't until Dec. 17 that the Harvard-Woodstock enterprise zone, and all others in Illinois, received official certification from the state, Charles Eldredge said.
The letter, from Illinois DCEO Director James Schultz, said the Harvard-Woodstock enterprise zone will take effect Jan. 1 and expire Dec. 31, 2030.
Eldredge is the administrator for a local oversight board for the zone formed in September.
Other members on the board include two representatives from Harvard – City Administrator Dave Nelson and local developer Mark Stricker – two representatives from Woodstock – Woodstock City Council member Saladin and local business owner Larry O'Connor – and one representative from the county – County Board member Larry Smith.
Eldredge said two of the biggest state incentives offered to businesses that apply to be in the zone are not having to pay the state portion of sales tax for building materials for a qualified project, and getting 0.5 percent income tax credit off income taxes to the total cost of a qualified project.
Local incentives include discounts on real estate tax credits for the city of Harvard, Woodstock and Harvard Community Unit School District 50's portion of the real estate tax bill, he said.
"This is, to one extent, a work in progress," Eldredge said of the incentives being offered. "And as we move forward, we will be looking to add other incentives and see what works and what doesn't. So this is probably going to change over time."
Eldredge said there already are some local projects in the works that are planning expansions under the enterprise zone.
"I see this as a wonderful marketing tool [for those] who otherwise wouldn't know how business-friendly Woodstock and Harvard are, and McHenry County," Eldredge said.