After a unanimous vote by the Royal Oak City Commission on August 18, 2014, Royal Oak is the latest municipality to establish a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program in the State of Michigan.
PACE is an innovative way to help Royal Oak businesses save money, create jobs, grow the tax base and promote environmental sustainability, all at no cost to Royal Oak taxpayers. Under the program, commercial building owners may voluntarily assume a special assessment on their property tax bill to finance energy efficiency, water efficiency, and renewable energy projects.
“PACE is an incredible tool that has been sweeping across the country, and now it is available to businesses in Royal Oak,” said Todd Fenton, the city’s Economic Development Manager. “It promotes environmentally friendly development, saves property owners money, and creates jobs for Michigan contractors, construction workers, and manufacturers of clean energy products, all without a dime of taxpayer money.”
The program will be administered by Lean and Green Michigan, which has established a statewide marketplace for PACE financing since 2012, and currently administers the PACE Programs in Wayne, Washtenaw and Macomb Counties, as well as the Cities of Southfield and Rochester Hills, among others.
“Royal Oak has long been a special driver of economic development in the region, so we are especially excited that the city has become the 10th local government to create a PACE district by joining Lean & Green Michigan,” said Andy Levin, President of Lean and Green Michigan. “Given the city’s economic vitality, I feel that many businesses in the city will be able to take advantage of PACE financing to make clean energy upgrades.” Read more.