The new agreement approved by West Carrollton City Council last week gives the schools a uniform percentage of the funds generated by the TIFs while broadening the city’s options to use the money, City Manager Brad Townsend said.
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“So, for (the schools) it gives them a little more guaranteed revenue,” he said. “For us, it gives us more flexibility in how we spend it. It also gives us a new economic development tool to attract development.”
The land in the two TIFs includes the area around Interstate 75’s Exit 47 and property near West Central Avenue and Elm Street, city records show.
A TIF is an economic development mechanism generally used to finance public infrastructure improvements. Tax dollars from the increased improvement value are directed toward a separate fund, most often used to finance the construction of public infrastructure.
The revised deal, approved by the school district and the CTC last month, replaces an agreement established in 2007, records show.
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Among the new TIF deal’s highlights, according to the city:
•Allows the city to use funds for land acquisition and building demolition costs at the former Fraser paper mill and former Carrollton Plaza. Total costs for those projects was about $4 million.
•Gives the city discretion to provide incentives to potential developers within the areas. This may provide greater benefit to the TIF that includes the Miami Bend Community Entertainment District, which city officials are seeking to transform into a multi-million dollar development.
•Provides schools with 40 percent of the service payments generated from any new commercial redevelopment, and 63 percent of the service payments generated by residential development. In the previous agreement, the schools received the funds only after any debt payments were paid.
The deal “benefits everyone,” West Carrollton Superintendent Andrea Townsend said in a statement.
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“The school district recognizes the importance of economic development to sustain a viable community. We are looking forward to our continued relationship with the city as well as community members,” she said.
The size of the two districts will also increase. The TIF near the center of town has grown from 26.6 to 108.97 acres, records show.
This is the area where a $4.5 million, 80,000 square foot bar/athletic facility is being built.
The other TIF – which includes the entertainment district near I-75 – will increase also significantly, going from 36.7 to 103.55 acres, according to records.
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