Town staff updated the Master Plan Implementation Committee on recent economic development briefings and resources available to Northborough.

Laurie summarized a joint presentation delivered to the Select Board, Financial Planning Committee and others that described tax increment financing (TIF) as a tool to encourage business investment through negotiated property tax relief on new investment. She said the Marlborough example was cited as a local use case where TIFs have attracted research and development and high‑tech firms and that TIFs are negotiated on a case‑by‑case basis with terms that often phase down tax relief over several years. Laurie said any TIF would still require Select Board negotiation and Town Meeting approval.

The MassDevelopment PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program was also described as a financing mechanism for commercial energy upgrades, with funding repaid as a special assessment on property tax bills. Laurie said PACE could support commercial owners’ investments such as rooftop solar, and that program rules and bank arrangements would be part of a negotiated agreement.

Laurie said CMRPC (Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission) can help the town create a business‑facing web page that lists available properties for sale or lease to make it easier to recruit new businesses. She also noted the White Cliffs site has an RFP recently issued and that the town is exploring reuse options for 4 West Main (potential committee or process under Select Board consideration).

Committee members asked about negotiation safeguards, such as requiring hiring commitments and recapture clauses if a company fails to meet TIF conditions; Laurie said TIF agreements can include performance requirements and penalties and cited Marlborough’s practice of revoking TIFs when commitments were not kept.

No vote or formal action was taken on TIFs or PACE; the committee requested links to the presentations and additional information on CMRPC’s proposed web page capabilities.