The City of Vidor wants to attract new citizens to move there. The City Council in Vidor will consider approving an ordinance Thursday that will offer tax abatements for new residential construction in the city.
Vidor City Manager Mike Kunst said the idea of the tax abatements has been discussed since the last municipal election in May of 2015. Kunst indicated the city has moved slowly, but is making progress to establish an atmosphere to encourage new growth in Vidor. In addition to the tax abatements for new residential construction the city will waive building permit fees, provide dumpsters during construction, and grant two years of abatement for builders. The building permits will still be required, but no fee will be charged for new construction permits.
New home owners will receive 100 percent abatement from city taxes in Vidor for the first two years they own their new homes. The abatement drops to 90 percent for the third year and continues through the first seven years of ownership ending at 20 percent for the seventh year.
To further help with encouraging new construction Vidor is working to identify some substandard structures for demolition. Vidor will provide dumpsters at no charge for demolition of substandard structures. The City Council in fact will consider a couple of such structures for demolition at its next meeting.
Kunst indicated the city has not set any goals for new residential construction, but believes the tax abatement ordinance will have a positive impact on the growth of Vidor in the near future. Kunst stated in talking with the city manager of Groves that city has undertaken a similar tax abatement policy ten years ago and it took about five years to really see a noticeable difference. Kunst hopes the action Thursday will help get the ship in the right direction and Vidor might see a change for the better in a couple years.
The Vidor City Council will consider tax abatement ordinance at its meeting Thursday evening at 7:00 in the Vidor City Hall.
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