Office of the First Selectman 1 First Street Seymour, CT 06483

March 8, 2012

SEYMOUR, CT The Town of Seymour has a new Tax Incentive Plan, adopted by the Board of Selectman at its Tuesday, March 6th meeting. The plan, recommended by the Tax Incentive Committee comprised of Chairman John Conroy Jr., Alfred Bruno, Phil Whilhemy, and Ted Holly III, went into effect on Wednesday March 7, 2012. The full plan is located on the town website on the main page as well as under the Charter/Ordinance tab. It is also located in hard copy in the Town Clerks office where residents or prospective businesses can request a copy. The only prior tax incentive plans that the town had were the SMART and BESMART plans which were only for manufacturing companies and used primarily in the 90s. This new plan expands to many more business types including retail, commercial office, information technology, research and development, restaurants, family entertainment, recreation, commercial marina and waterfront development, hospitality, assisted living, warehouse distribution, and storage facilities. The level of tax break would be based on the amount of money the business is investing in town and the details of the project. The Board of Selectmen would have the final say on whether to offer the tax break, and if so, for what amount. Were excited about it. We think its long overdue, said Chairman John Conroy, By adopting this set of incentives in Seymour, we will have a very competitive offering, particularly in relation to towns in our area. When combined with the efforts of our new Economic Development Director, our hard-working Economic Development Commission and the current administration, these new incentives should give us a great mix of tools and resources to bring some significant, positive economic development to Seymour in the near term. Economic Development Director, Fred A. Messore, says This policy, along with now having a paid economic development staff, will allow Seymour to be more proactive on local, regional, state, and national level in attracting developers and making Seymour an area they want to invest in. Seymour is not sitting back anymore, we are being more assertive. The EDC is also investing in planning which is also a key part of the puzzle. Were putting the tools in place to be successful. The Tax Incentives Plan was a priority on First Selectman W. Kurt Millers 100 Day Plan. He is thrilled to see the project, which was started under the previous administration, come to an end. I appointed the committee so that the members could focus on the plan and bring it to completion. This will be helpful in moving Seymour in the right direction. ###