Reading City Council renews LERTA tax abatement program

Reading has renewed a tax abatement program intended to encourage development and improvements to properties in the city.

City Council on Monday approved a 10-year extension of the city’s Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance program, commonly known as LERTA.

Managing Director Jack Gombach described LERTA during an Aug. 10 meeting as a standard tax abatement program used to encourage economic development.

The program, first adopted by the city in 1985 and extended three times since, provides temporary property tax relief on increases in assessed value resulting from new construction or improvements.

The city’s previous LERTA authorization expired last year.

The program exempts taxes on the increased assessment from qualifying construction or improvements for 10 years, starting at 100% the first year and declining by 10 percentage points annually.

The abatement applies only to the increase in a property’s assessment resulting from the improvements, meaning property owners continue to pay taxes on the property’s existing assessed value.

Gombach said renewing the city’s program also is necessary for Berks County to offer its LERTA tax abatement for projects within Reading.

“The reason why we need this passed is so that the county can also offer its LERTA for city projects,” he said.