A good year for housing starts in Baldwin City should get an additional boost when a neighborhood revitalization plan gets its final approval later this month, Baldwin City Administrator Glenn Rodden told city council members Tuesday.

In March, the Baldwin City Council approved a neighborhood revitalization plan, which would rebate 100 percent of the property tax value of new residential, industrial and commercial construction for five years. It would give the same rebate on improvements to an existing home or business that increase its property value by more than 10 percent. The rebate is available to all projects within the city limits.

Earlier this month, the Baldwin City school board approved the plan. Rodden clarified, however, that the school district can’t rebate revenue from 28 mills of the 63.669 mills it will assess in the coming year. State statute prevents the school district from rebating revenue from its 8-mill capital outlay fund or the 20 mills collected for its general fund, he said.

With the school board’s approval, the Douglas County Commission will now consider participating in the revitalization plan. Rodden was confident the Douglas County Commission would approve participation in the plan, which it is scheduled to discuss at its Sept. 13 meeting.

“From our earlier discussion with them (county commissioners), they wanted to make sure the school board was OK with it,” he said.

The city’s new housing construction has been doing well, with seven new housing starts so far this year, Rodden said. All of those will be eligible for the revitalization plan’s rebate, he said. From his conversations with developers, Rodden anticipates formal approval of the plan by the school board and county will stimulate more activity.

“People are interested, but its full benefits were not really guaranteed until the school board and county signed on,” he said.

The council also approved an amendment that will have the county and the city each contributing $150,500 in a benefit district that will pave First Street from State Lake Road to the northern city limits. That was a $21,500 increase in the city’s share and an equal decrease in the county’s portion from the benefit district allocations the City Council approved last month.

The assessment of $43,000 to Palmyra Township was unchanged, as was the $86,000 cost to be shared by seven property owners in an abutting subdivision.

Rodden said the change was made at the request of the county. He noted the county was still contributing the engineering for the project.