The Dauphin County Administration building.
Dauphin County voted to extend a Harrisburg tax abatement program on Wednesday.
At their weekly meeting, the Dauphin County commissioners unanimously approved the extension of the city’s existing Local Economic Revitalization Tax Abatement (LERTA), which incentivizes development and property improvements within the city of Harrisburg.
The move follows Harrisburg City Council’s December vote to extend the program for another year.
First implemented in 2015, LERTA offers a 100%, 10-year tax abatement to developers for residential renovations and construction. Under LERTA, commercial and mixed-use projects are also eligible for 50% to 100% abatement.
When city council passed the extension in December, Jason Graves, the city’s then-director of business development and LERTA administrator, said Harrisburg had drafted new LERTA legislation that was awaiting the Harrisburg School District’s review and, in the meantime, recommended extending the current LERTA program for another year.
The district has yet to pass an extension for the program.
Graves’ position as director of business development and LERTA administrator has since been defunded, alongside several others, by city council, a move that prompted a lawsuit from Mayor Wanda Williams. While a judge ruled Tuesday that council had the authority to defund the positions, Williams said she plans to appeal the decision.
If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!
