The LIFT Program was established during the 2006 Legislative Session.  The program provides a new way to support Washington's public infrastructure, helping to create jobs and increase local economic growth.

The Program
The LIFT Competitive Program allows selected local governments to take advantage of tax revenue generated by private investment in a Revenue Development Area (RDA) to make payments on bonds used to finance public infrastructure improvements.  Incremental revenue increases in the RDA and revenue from other local public sources are used to match state money and must also be used to repay the same bonds.  The state revenue earned is distributed through a local sales and use tax that is credited against the state's sales and use tax.

2008 Competitive Round

Eligibility and Award Amounts
Cities, towns, counties, and federally-recognized Tribes may apply for the $2.5 million in annual LIFT authority that will be awarded competitively by CERB.  The LIFT statute limits an RDA to one per county with the exception of those jurisdictions that straddle more than one county.  Following the 2007 LIFT awards, jurisdictions within King and Snohomish counties are not eligible for LIFT funding with a few exceptions.  Please contact staff for more information.

The maximum award for any one project is $1 million per year for up to 25 years.

Due Dates

Pre-Application due date:  January 31, 2008
Application materials will be released once the pre-applications have been received.
Application due date:  June 30, 2008
The Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development must receive all application materials by 5:00 p.m. on the deadline date.

Please Note:  Each prospective applicant is encouraged to immediately review the materials and take special note of the timelines and requirements.  All the statutory requirements must be met by the application deadline for the project to be considered.

CERB is responsible for approving use of the LIFT Program to both legislatively and competitively selected projects.  CERB receives management support from the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED) and collaborates with CTED and the Department of Revenue (DOR) to meet the requirements of the program application, evaluation and reporting processes. 

For application materials and/or questions, CERB staff can be reached at 360-725-4047--Matthew Ojennus or at cerblift@cted.wa.gov.

Revised April 2008.