The Greene County supervisors are having a special session Thursday at 8:30 am to learn more about urban renewal and tax increment financing (TIF) from Bob Josten of Dorsey & Whitney. Josten has worked with the city of Jefferson on its TIF projects and is highly regarded in the business.
Some of the supervisors attended a TIF workshop hosted by Greene County Development Corporation in October. GCDC has approached the supervisors about establishing a TIF district that would include the 41 wind turbines in Junction Township, and using the increment captured to pay for the Water Tower housing project in Jefferson.
Without it being an agenda item, the supervisors discussed the idea and decided by consensus not to pursue creating a TIF district. They were reluctant to support a project in Jefferson when the need for housing in other towns in the county is also great, and they viewed TIF rather like Pandora’s box.
Also, establishing a TIF district can take several months, and the increment is set on the value of the property at the time the district is established. By the time a TIF district could be established, the wind turbines would already be completed, greatly reducing the benefit of TIF.
Now, though, with another 85 wind turbines proposed, the supervisors are revisiting the idea of going through the legal process to set up TIF.
Board chair John Muir said at the Dec. 11 meeting that a TIF district could be in place for up to 20 years, and that even with the $15,000 in cost for setting it up, “having TIF available would be a good thing.” He named roads and bridges as a priority for TIF revenues.
According to supervisor Dawn Rudolph, “Just because you have it there, you don’t have to use it.” She said she hoped future supervisors would make good decisions about using TIF.
Jefferson mayor Craig Berry was at the supervisors’ meeting. He said that the city first used TIF 15 years ago, and although it’s available, the city doesn’t use it for every project. TIF “has been a very useful tool for the city,” Berry said.
Muir wants to look at the potential benefit of including county towns in the TIF district to help build the infrastructure needed should there be interest in housing development. That could save the towns the expense of setting up their own districts.
