Published: November 18, 2009 10:13 am      

City plans review of TIF ideas

At a short City Council Meeting, council members voted in favor of two important projects.

The council voted to retain The Benham to review TIF plans and to give Midwestern Pet Foods $10,000 to extend a rail spur to its factory on 9th Street.

The Benham Group and engineer Bert Smith have a contract with the city to develop and review and plans for a TIF district in Chickasha.

TIF stands for Tax Increment Financing.

"A TIF is a five to 20 year property tax exemption based on increased value of the project property due to new construction or significant improvements," according to Web sites.

The TIF district has not been accepted with open arms in Chickasha. Many believed the district would provide tax advantages to developers, not business and property owners.

The area in question, an 85-acre plot south of Grand Avenue, is a low lying area, and Smith will ensure that required changes have been met to raise the ground. Developer Steve LaForge said plans for the district will be sent to the city this week, but more construction will not begin until the economy gets better.

"With county sales tax revenue the lowest its been in a long time, Its not exactly a retail market right now," he said. "I am still confident people want retail in Chickasha, but I'm not confident that any retailers will come to Chickasha right now."

City Manager Larry Shelton said Smith will review LaForge's plans, and if they are feasible the city will continue the process which has become a lengthy endeavor.





What is TIF?

Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, is a public financing method which has been used for redevelopment and community improvement projects. TIF is designed to channel funding toward improvements in distressed or underdeveloped areas where development might not otherwise occur.Often, when a municipality rehabs a site the surrounding property value increases. This increased site value and investment sometimes generates increased tax revenues. The increased tax revenues are the "tax increment."

source: wikipedia.org