Stroudsburg passes property tax incentive to encourage downtown development

The Borough of Stroudsburg has moved to help stimulate development downtown by enacting a property tax incentive.

In two public hearings during the council meeting on Tuesday, June 18, that lasted just over a combined 20 minutes, Stroudsburg Borough Council designated certain properties as eligible for Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) and unanimously approved the LERTA ordinance.

The commonwealth's LERTA Act allows local taxing authorities to approve tax exemptions for construction on business properties “in deteriorated areas of economically depressed communities.”

The Stroudsburg LERTA area includes both sides of Main Street from the western boundary of the borough to the Interborough Bridge with East Stroudsburg, both sides of Ann Street, and any areas between Ann and Main streets.

“We tried to do this for the past five years and all the entities involved were not on the same page,” said Council President Matt Abell. “Now, it seems everybody is incentivized to do this.”

According to the ordinance, improvements will not qualify for LERTA if they "do not result in an increased assessed value on the subject property."

While answering questions from meeting attendees, Abell clarified that the ordinance itself will last for five years upon its enactment, and the five-year schedule for tax deferment would start when construction on a project begins. This five-year schedule starts at 100% deferment and decreases by 20 percentage points until the deferment is 20% in the fifth year. He also said that there would have to be “enough new construction that it would trigger a reassessment by the county.”

Abell said that residential properties are covered under a different program than LERTA.

Council Vice President Erica McCabe said that the LERTA ordinance should help the borough through the Interstate 80 project.

Property acquisitions for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's widening of I-80 through Stroudsburg "would reduce the the tax base for Monroe County, Stroudsburg and Stroud Township" Stroudsburg Borough Manager Lawrence Kopp has said.

“As long as we provide a successful program, I don’t see why they wouldn’t jump at expanding it,” said McCabe, referring to the Stroudsburg school board and Monroe County commissioners.

According to Kopp, the county and the school board have yet to pass LERTA legislation. Kopp expects the school board to pass LERTA legislation next before the county commissioners do.

"Without the approval of the other two entities, we cannot go forward," emailed Kopp. If one or both does not pass legislation, Stroudsburg "cannot go alone with the tax abatement."

Max Augugliaro is the public safety and government watchdog reporter at the Pocono Record. Reach him atMAugugliaro@gannett.com.