Boundaries that determine whether or not a Southwest Colorado business is eligible for enterprise zone tax credits are changing, effective on Jan. 1, 2016, and many counties that saw economic gains - including La Plata and Archuleta - will be affected.
Montezuma County, however, still is considered an "economically distressed area" and will not be affected, said Laura Lewis, assistant director of Region 9. Legislation passed in 2012 requires the enterprise zone designations at least once every five years to determine if boundaries meet at least one of the three statutory criteria for determining economic distress.
Modifications to boundaries that are needed as a result of a review shall not be made in a high unemployment period.
When reviewing qualification, Region 9 looks first at the county level, and if the county as a whole doesn't meet distress criteria, individual census tracts are considered.
Lewis said that the individual census block of Mancos would actually not be eligible this time around because it has made some economic gains over the last five years.
"Montezuma County will stay as an Enterprise Zone because it meets the distress criteria as a county so they'll be no changes, but if it didn't meet the criteria county then we'd have look to at individual census tracks and right now, if we did, the Mancos census tract actually is doing well economically and would not meet the criteria so they would've been out," said Lewis.
While she stressed that the changes will not affect Montezuma County businesses and organizations that are taking advantage of the tax credits, Region 9 will hosting three information meetings for area tax preparers and affected businesses, including one in Cortez.
The presentations will cover options for businesses that utilize tax credits and are going out of the zone; detailed maps and information about the new boundaries and more.
The Cortez meeting will be held Tuesday, May 12, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Cortez Rec Center's Mesa Room.
For more information, call 970-247-9621.