Incentives

I am often asked about what incentives or funding assistance programs are available from the city. It is, by the way, a good question to ask. Most business start-up and relocation decisions are expensive and any financial assistance available to cut costs helps.

The City of Canton has an extensive list of incentives strategically designated for disinvested, underinvested, or underdeveloped parts of town. Canton’s incentive information is also listed on the city’s website and in our recently published ‘Canton Community Profile.’ In case you have questions about what incentives we have; here is a brief summary of them.

Certificate of Occupancy Waiver. The Economic Development Manager may waive 50% of Certificate of Occupancy fees and may go to the Mayor and Council to request up to 100% based upon the project’s economic impact.

Central Business District (CBD). Businesses that locate within the Central Business District may qualify for an 80% reduction on all new water and sewer tap fees.

Riverstone. Businesses that locate within Riverstone may qualify for a 30% discount on new sewer tap fees.

Freeport Exemption. The city offers a 100% Freeport Inventory Tax Exemption. This exemption covers raw materials and goods in process of manufacture, finished goods produced in Georgia within the last 12 months, and finished goods stored in Georgia within the last 12 months and destined for shipment out-of-state.

River Mill District Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) Enterprise Zone. Businesses that locate within the River Mill LCI Enterprise Zone may qualify for abatement of occupational tax, inspection fees, and other fees based on the project’s economic impact. Property tax abatement is provided for a specific period of time based on the value of investment into existing property improvements. Eligible businesses must create and maintain at least five new full-time jobs.

Waiver of Permit/Impact Fees. Depending on the project’s economic impact, the Mayor and Council may reduce or waive all building permit fees associated with the business relocation/expansion including all fees associated with new construction, plan review and tenant finishes.

Technology Ridge Opportunity Zone. Businesses that locate within the Technology Ridge Opportunity Zone may become eligible to receive $3,500 per created job when two or more jobs are created.

Façade Improvement Program. The Canton Main Street Program, in partnership with Canton Tourism, administers a grant program for downtown property owners seeking to improve the exterior of their buildings. Property owners can apply for up to $2,500 in matching grant funds that can be used for a variety of exterior work.

I frequently offer three points of advice to businesses inquiring of incentives:
1) The city is not obligated to incentivize any project. 2) Most often incentives are forgone public revenues therefore we consider the city’s return on investment. 3) If the certainty of a project depends on incentives and the project or business cannot operate without them, we question the profitability of the business and the vitality of the project.

We have a map on the city’s website (Canton-Georgia.com) showing the geographical locations of each incentive area.

As always, we are here to help. If you have any questions about our incentives or how they may be beneficial to your business, please give us a call and let us know how we can help.