From the Terre Haute Tribune-Star:
Terre Haute’s various Tax Increment Finance districts are financially “healthy,” local officials were told Wednesday.
Jason Semler with H.J. Umbaugh & Associates of Indianapolis presented a review of the four city TIF districts to the five-member Terre Haute Redevelopment Commission, which oversees the districts.
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The city’s Indiana 46 TIF district, which includes the eastside Walmart, is approaching the need to pay off bond anticipation notes issued to help develop roads and other infrastructure in that area, Semler said. While paying those off – by issuing bonds – the commission may want to consider borrowing an additional $4 million to help finance second-phase developments and perhaps another project in that area, said Cliff Lambert, executive director of the Department of Redevelopment. That would require City Council approval, he noted.
Meanwhile, the city’s downtown central business TIF district is “a very healthy area,” Semler said. Good infrastructure and a well-established business area have helped stabilize property values downtown, he said.
Semler discussed a “hypothetical” new bond issue of $5 million for downtown. In response to a question from commissioner Brian Conley, Lambert said that figure reflects potential new projects for the downtown TIF area, possibly launching later this summer or fall.
TIF districts are special taxing areas created by local governments. Once established, any new real property taxes generated in a TIF district are “captured” by the Redevelopment Commission for reinvestment within the district. In Terre Haute, personal property taxes are not “captured” by the TIF, Lambert noted.
Outstanding bond debt in the city’s TIF districts is being covered solely by new property tax dollars from within those districts, officials said. In most cases, private property developers are “on the hook” if there is not enough TIF revenue generated to cover the debt service, Semler said. In each TIF area, the Redevelopment Department has enough funds to make 18 months of payments in the event of a shortfall, Lambert noted.
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http://tribstar.com/local/x1767474085/Commission-hears-report-on-health-of-TIF-districts
