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Pa. Assembly moving forward with audit of Allentown’s NIZ
Stacy Wescoe//February 27, 2024//
A Pennsylvania General Assembly Committee on Monday agreed to a plan introduced by State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R- Bucks, Lehigh, that calls for an audit of the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ.)
The City of Allentown’s website describes the NIZ, which was created by state law in 2011, as a special taxing district that encourages development and revitalization in downtown Allentown.
The NIZ consists of approximately 128 acres in downtown Allentown and the Waterfront district. All taxes generated in the NIZ — with the exception of school district and city taxes– can be used to pay debt service on any financed improvements within the NIZ.
“Citizens need this kind of information to hold accountable their government,” Coleman said in a release. “People want to know if their tax dollars are being used effectively and efficiently.”
He noted that more than $500 million has been invested in Allentown’s NIZ during the past decade.
But he said that while the authority allocated a lot of money, Pennsylvanians have no way of knowing if the NIZ has been an effective means of generating economic activity.
“The Allentown NIZ audit will give taxpayers their first significant look at how their hundreds of millions of tax dollars are being used by the authority,” Coleman said. “My goal is to give taxpayers the information they need to hold accountable an authority that is supposed to be serving and benefitting them.”
Meanwhile, State Rep. Josh Siegel, D-Allentown, is coming to the defense of the NIZ
“I am beyond confident that any audit of the Neighborhood Improvement Zone will show its transformative impact of the Lehigh Valley and Allentown through increased revenue, economic development, and job creation,” Siegel said.
