Central Maine has a wealth of business assistance programs that can meet the needs of any business, whether that business is brand new, relocating here, or an existing company hoping to expand and/or improve its operations. Below are just a few of the high profile programs that will assist in your business success. For more information on these and other programs, please contact our office at 207-680-7300 or info@centralmaine.org
Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG)
The CDBG program provides grants and loans to communities to assist businesses with funding and technical support for community projects that meet economic development objectives and lead to job creation or retention for Maine residents with low to moderate incomes.
Pine Tree Development Zones (PTDZ)
The PTCZ program offers eligible businesses the chance to greatly reduce or virtually eliminate state taxes for up to ten years.
Our goal is to:
Create quality jobs in targeted industries
Support new or expanding Maine businesses, and businesses relocating or establishing a Maine presence.
Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
TIF provides municipalities with a local tool to finance the cost of private development. Maine municipalities may redirect some or all of the new property taxes from an investment project within a designated district to assist in that project's financing.
Municipalities have three disbursement options for the tax increment:
Give directly to the investing business to pay project costs.
Use to retire bonds issued as part of the project.
Retain for allowable economic development.
TIF districts may be designated for up to 30 years. Bonds may be issued for up to 20 years. Financing terms are determined by the municipality. Community designation of a TIF district requires proper public notice, a public hearing, and a majority vote of the municipal legislative body.
Governor's Training Initiative (GTI)
The GTI program develops and coordinates training for firms intending to expand or locate in Maine, reorganize a workplace to remain competitive, or upgrade worker skills. Eligible businesses may receive reimbursements for on-the-job training, competitive retooling, assessment, job-task analysis, workplace safety and literacy, specialized recruitment, high-performance skills, or customized technical training.