Reading Revitalization And Improvement Zone Authority Holds First Meeting

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The newly formed City of Reading Revitalization and Improvement Zone Authority held its inaugural meeting Wednesday night to outline its agenda over the next week.

The authority will be working to identify a potential city revitalization and improvement zone.

The CRIZ program was created by recent state legislation. The state departments of Revenue, Community and Economic Development and the Governor’s Office of Budget administer the program.

A CRIZ zone is an area of up to 130 acres comprising parcels that will provide economic development and job creation within a city. All new state and local taxes collected within the CRIZ will be used to repay debt service to stimulate economic development projects within the zone.

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Reading Mayor, City Council President At Odds Over Appointments

A 1947 topographic map of the Reading, Pennsylvania area. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer on Monday accused City Council President Francis G. Acosta of waiting so long to appoint members to a new city authority that it could derail a major city revitalization effort.

“The process is taking too long,” Spencer said. “I’m turning up the heat, because I don’t want it said that we dropped the ball on this.”

He said the administration’s timeline calls for members of the new Reading Revitalization and Improvement Zone Authority to be chosen by Wednesday, so there’s time to make the required advertisements, incorporate the authority, have members choose officers, and finally submit an application to the state – all before Nov. 30.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=518221