CRIZ About subheader

About

Who runs the zone, how it started, and why Erie needed it.

CRIZ About — leadership

Who's accountable

One director, a board of up to nine.

Brian Polito runs the Authority day to day. The board has up to nine appointed seats, filled by Senator Laughlin, Representatives Harkins and Merski, and the mayor. Eight are filled today, chaired by Matt Wachter, with one seat currently open. The board approves every reinvestment decision at monthly meetings, with minutes posted after each session.

Brian Polito

Executive Director

Matthew Wachter, Esq.

Chairperson

Matthew Good

Vice Chairperson

Roger Richards, Esq.

Secretary/Treasurer

Carla Higgins

Board Member

Cathryn Morris-Easterling

Board Member

Michael Raftis

Board Member

Joseph Vendetti, Esq.

Board Member

Katrina Vincent

Board Member

CRIZ About — history

The short history

How Erie got here.

Pennsylvania lets a few cities keep the new tax money their downtown creates, instead of sending it all to the state. Erie asked to join years ago and wasn't picked. In 2024, Erie asked again, and this time, it got in.

  1. Pennsylvania starts a program to help downtowns

    In 2013, the state created a plan called CRIZ. A city picked for the program gets to keep the new tax money its own downtown creates, and use it to fix up buildings and bring in new businesses, instead of sending that money to the state.

  2. Erie asks to join, and gets turned down

    About a decade ago, Erie applied for the program. The state said no. The CRIZ was never actually in place here, Erie just hadn't been picked yet.

  3. The state opens the door again

    In 2024, Pennsylvania's state budget let new cities apply for CRIZ for the first time in years. Erie had another chance.

  4. Erie applies again, this time for 130 acres

    The new application covered the Bayfront, State Street and Parade Street, the same ground the zone covers today.

  5. December 30, 2024

    This time, Erie gets picked

    Governor Shapiro approved Erie's zone two days before the new year. That timing mattered: it let the zone use 2024 as its starting point for measuring growth, instead of 2025, giving it an extra year of growth to count from day one.

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