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Scorecard: Financing Economic Development
By: Ralph J. Basile

Five economic development financing tools are examined from a practitioner’s standpoint. The “pro’s and con’s” associated with use of each tool are detailed and a simple grade (from A to C+) is arrived at in an attempt to capture our experiences with applying these tools to further economic development objectives at the local government level. The following tools are examined: tax abatements; brownsfield funding; CDBG funding; Tax Increment Financing (TIF); and, New Market Tax Credits (NMTC).

A myriad of economic development financing tools are available to local and state government officials and practitioners. This article will address the effectiveness of five financing tools used to stimulate economic development ventures nationwide. For each financing tool, we:

• describe the tool or program
• identify how extensively the tool is used
• list pro’s and con’s associated with use of the tool
• and, provide a “scorecard” grade and the reason why