A five-year effort to create a special tax status to help economically distressed west Ocala came to fruition Tuesday as the Ocala City Council approved a plan meant to revitalize the struggling community.
The vote finalizes a Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) for west Ocala. In CRAs, a portion of the property tax generated from within the CRA’s boundaries can be set aside to help revitalize the community.
Tuesday, the council finalized the plan to begin setting aside any tax money collected from west Ocala beyond what was collected in the 2015 tax year. Most of that extra money will be earmarked for west Ocala projects. If property taxes fall below the 2015 base rate, then no money goes into the west Ocala CRA trust fund.