North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 04 - COMMERCE › Chapter 01 - DEPARTMENTAL RULES › Subchapter I - INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT FUND › Section .0100 - PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS › Section 01I .0102 - DEFINITIONS

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a) These
				  definitions apply to all parts of the Industrial Development Fund including the
				  Basic Emergency Economic Development Assistance, Utility Account and Clean
				  Water Bonds for Economic Development:
(1)
				  "Department" means the North Carolina Department of Commerce, or its
				  Secretary.
(2) "Applicant" means a
				  North Carolina unit of government that applies for IDF funds.
(3) "Industrial Development Fund" as
				  referenced in
				  G.S.
				  143B-437.01 means the fund within the
				  Department's fiscal structure in which the appropriation of monies for
				  industrial development projects is received and disbursed.
(4) "IDF" means the Industrial Development
				  Fund.
(5) "Eligible tier areas"
				  means the aggregation of North Carolina counties into groups in which certain
				  economic benefits apply, as currently authorized by
				  G.S.
				  105-129.3.
(6) "Unit of Government" means a town, city
				  or county of the state.
(7)
				  "Full-time Job" means a job that requires at least 1600 hours of work in a
				  year.
(8) "Infrastructure" means
				  utilities, typically referred to as "public utilities," or a rail spur where
				  there is public ownership of the rail property.
(9) "Grant" means money given to a unit of
				  government to pay for an economic development project and does not have to be
				  repaid, if the terms of the grant are fulfilled, i.e. the jobs commitment is
				  met.
(10) "Loan" means money loaned
				  to a unit of government to pay for an economic development project, to be
				  repaid by the borrower.
(11)
				  "Project" means an activity proposed for IDF funding. It shall be described
				  narratively in an application and accompanied by a preliminary set of drawings,
				  or sketches, or other data that present the project in factual detail, together
				  with a schedule or itemization of costs from an engineer or contractor. The
				  schedule of costs shall constitute the ability to complete a project with no
				  more than a 10 percent contingency.
(12) Project expenditures means:
(A) For basic IDF -
(i) the construction of, or improvements to
				  water, sewer, gas or electrical utility systems, distribution lines, or
				  required storage facilities, or a rail spur when either is publicly owned and
				  operated, and or;
(ii) the
				  renovation of buildings including structural repairs, repairs, addition of
				  docks, erection of walls, structural supports for heavy equipment, electrical
				  upgrades, or HVAC upgrades;
(iii)
				  improvements that are necessary to make a building suitable for occupancy by
				  the operator of the project. Such improvements may include mechanical equipment
				  such as heating and air conditioning equipment, plumbing, pipes or trenching to
				  handle effluents or process water, special electrical additions and lighting.
				  If an improvement is critical to the operation of a or is critical to the
				  decision making process pertinent to the creation of jobs, the actual
				  improvement need not be located on the site of the main project building. If,
				  however, a grant of funds is involved, the improvement must be constructed on
				  public right-of-ways or on property which the unit of government has an
				  easement to treat as it normally would do as if it owned the property. However,
				  when extending infrastructure to a firm, IDF assistance ends at the private
				  property line. In either situation, the application must document the exact
				  relationship between the jobs and the project. An example of a fundable project
				  would be where the unit of government must construct an elevated water tank and
				  service lines to provide water to a building where such service is directly
				  required to operate an industrial business. An example of an unfundable project
				  would be where a unit of government seeks to expand or to repair its water
				  utility (or other infrastructure) system and where the relationship to the
				  creation of jobs is fairly general or vague. The project shall be described
				  from the perspective of employment to be created and its impact to the project.
(iv) the purchase and installation
				  of equipment that is associated with the industrial classification of the
				  project.
(B) For
				  Emergency Economic Development Assistance - Loans to local units of government
				  for economic development projects designed to create jobs, lead to the creation
				  of jobs, or save jobs, and to assist in alleviating the economic dislocation
				  created by the loss of jobs.
(C)
				  For the Utility Account -
(i) the construction
				  of, or improvements to water, sewer, gas or electrical utility systems,
				  distribution lines, or required storage facilities, or a rail spur or rail line
				  when either is publicly owned and operated, and/or
(ii) equipment for existing or proposed
				  industrial buildings for operations in the industrial classifications that are
				  currently eligible to receive Utility Account.
(D) For Clean Water Bonds -
(i) the construction of or improvements to
				  new or existing water or sewer distribution lines or equipment,
(ii) the construction or improvements to new
				  or existing wastewater treatment facilities, or
(iii) improvements that will expand the
				  capacity of existing wastewater treatment facilities or water supply
				  systems.
(13)
				  "State" means the State of North Carolina.
(14) "Application" means the pages of
				  documents in which an applicant for IDF funds identifies itself, describes a
				  project, specifies the funds required, provides a breakdown of project costs,
				  and submits the benefiting firm's commitment to create jobs and evidence of its
				  credit worthiness.
(15) "Local
				  Matching Funds" means funds of a unit of government contributed to an economic
				  development project for the purpose of assisting in a total financing package
				  and earning (or winning) other funds by doing so. Matching is usually expressed
				  as a ratio, i.e. one local dollar for three state dollars, or one for
				  three.
(16) "Participation Loan"
				  means a loan among at least three parties, including: A bank or financial
				  institution, the private firm, and the unit of government. The essence of a
				  participation loan is that the bank, or financial institution, and the unit of
				  government shall share at least equally in the lending arrangements, meaning
				  the money loaned and the risk involved and collateral shared.
(17) "Borrower" means the private firm
				  identified in a participation loan for building improvement or equipment in the
				  basic IDF, or the unit of government when the money is spent for emergency
				  economic dislocation assistance or when the money is reloaned in a utility
				  account project. Additionally, the unit of government shall be the borrower
				  when IDF is used to assist local matching, or in other cases when the
				  Department believes the project can be more prudently structured as a loan
				  rather than a grant.
(18)
				  "Preapplication Conference" means a meeting held at the Department to discuss a
				  proposed IDF application and includes: a representative of Commerce Finance
				  Center; the applicant; an official of the benefiting firm; and a banker, if a
				  participation loan is involved. A preapplication conference may be waived when
				  the total IDF expenditures are expected to be fifty thousand dollars ($50,000)
				  or less.
(19) "Clean Water
				  Objectives of the State" include:
(A) Reducing
				  the reliance on wells, septic tanks and similar facilities;
(B) Allowing residences, businesses, or local
				  governments not otherwise served by water or sewer or wastewater infrastructure
				  to connect into a distribution line or system (for water supply, sewer, or
				  wastewater) being furnished in an economic development project for new or
				  expanding industry.