Last updated: April 19, 2024 

RDC Meeting  Notes April 16, 2024  – Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts

Apr 19, 2024. This post at Brown County Matters.

Summary of Key Points:  The main topic was advocacy for creating Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts.  A TIF district allows the county/RDC to borrow money for infrastructure projects needed to support development. The increase in assessed value as a result of the investment is returned to the RDC to pay off the bond.

TIFs can only be used as a last resort e.g., development in the area would not be possible without government investment in infrastructure.

A proposed TIF is for the old Little Opry Property.  Andrew Tilton is requesting around $2 million to run a sewer line to the property. This will help him to lease the property to an apartment developer.  The developer might be asked to agree that if the project is not completed, the county is reimbursed.

• • Background – Nashville Sewer Expansion. The Nashville Utility Service Board (USB)  developed a master plan for expanding sewers that includes the Little Opry property. Nashville has not selected this expansion as a priority, and thus, the request for the “county” to fund this part of the expansion as well as other areas in their plan.

Meeting Attendees: RDC Board members: Ross Benson, Sue Lindborg, Bill Cayne, Jon Curry
Tim Clark (re-appointed to the RDC in March).  Ross Benson was a candidate for Nashville Town Council in 2023.

Guests included: Robyn Rosenberg Bowman (local GoP /co-owner Tramcore Realty), Kevin Allen/BLN, and Jimmy Tilton.

Agenda RDC Meeting Agenda for Tuesday, April 16 6PM

• • Handout – 20240416 Sue  Lindborg – Indiana Uplands Readi Funding – Projects
  • Presentation Material – Bill Cayne
    • 2024_04_16 Bill Cayne Evaluating Population Centers for New Development Opportunities
      • 240416 Parcels of populated areas within Brown County
    •  Melissa Stinson (Commissioner’s assistant) suggested the creation of an “Administrative Working Session” on how to generate a TIF for the project and ensure that the area is not annexed.
      • Was this suggestion approved by Commissioner Pittman and Wolpert?
      • TIF policies. Note that any discussion among commissioners that leads to a county policy decision must be discussed in public meetings, as required by Indiana Open Meeting Laws. Open meeting laws can be ignored with few consequences.
    • Kevin Allen – BLN, also mentioned that a TIF District could be created within 30 days, He is also part of the team promoting this development.
    • 20240416 TIF Handbook OCRA Kevin Allen
  • 20240416 TIF Gateway Reports Kevin Allen

Overall Observations on the RDC.   I’ve participated in or observed RDC since 2016. Each RDC  tends to start from scratch as new members are added with varying agendas.   It would be helpful to have a series of meetings with former RDC members to discuss and document the past work that has been done, challenges, issues, accomplishments, frustrations,  policies, available economic data, and lessons learned. Knowledge of this information may help reduce some learning curves.

Bedroom and Retirement Community. TIFs are effective in counties and cities that have to invest in infrastructure to attract development and jobs and expand their tax base and workforce. In contrast, Brown County has not had to provide these incentives.  Hard Truth Hills is a case in point.

• • The county is funded primarily by income tax and property tax. 
  • Brown County is a Bedroom Community and a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community supplemented with Tourism.  A high percentage of residents choose to live here and commute (or work from home) to other counties that offer higher-paying jobs.  What is our economic engine?  It’s not tourism. Tourism accounts for $12.1 million in wages, and county citizens who file tax returns account for over $425 million in taxable wages.

Assessed property values and taxes (historical and current) are contained in a database and supported by the County’s GIS system.  The information in this system can be used to assess areas experiencing growth, declines, or staying about the same.

If TIFs are a solution in Brown County, what is the problem?   What areas in the county should but cannot be developed without an investment in infrastructure by the government?
What are the current trends for revenue growth?  What is the expectation for growth?  How will areas be identified?  What is the criteria for new investment by the county?   How will this be funded?  What is the current Zoning in the proposed areas?  Are residents in the area supportive of the proposed developments?  Do the TIF areas align with the County Comprehensive Plan?  Given the county’s financial condition, credit rating,  and long lead time for reimbursement, is it a viable option for the county?

Meeting Notes 

As stated above, the main topic of the meeting was advocacy for creating Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts. This could allow the county/RDC to borrow money for infrastructure projects needed to support development. The increase in assessed value as a result of the investment is returned to the RDC to pay off the bond.

TIFs can only be used as a last resort e.g., development in the area would not be possible without government investment in infrastructure.

• • Purdue – The-Use-of-Tax-Increment-Finance. Indiana law now makes clear that TIF is intended to fund infrastructure to promote development that would not occur but for the added infrastructure financed by the TIF revenues. Evidence that the development would not happen but for the establishment of the TIF district must be presented before
    the TIF district is approved. TIF is not meant as a source of revenue for responding to ongoing development nor as a substitute for other sources of infrastructure funding. TIF districts are required to expire once the infrastructure bond is repaid. TIF is not meant as a permanent source of revenue for the enacting government.
    

Barnes and Thornburg – Handbook for RDC and attorneys 2023

• • • Before an “allocation area” (often referred to as a “TIF District”) can be created, the Redevelopment Commission must first (or simultaneously) create an Economic Development Area, and then select some or all of the parcels in the Economic Development Area to constitute one or more TIF Districts.
      • Example – EDA Paperwork – Helmsburg Helmsburg-EDA-Docs-and-Econ-Plan
      • See also:  Helmsburg Revitalization – Community Led

A proposed TIF is for the old Little Opry Property purchased by Andrew Tilton. He (through his advocates) is requesting around $2 million to run a sewer line from Nashville to the property. This will help him lease the property to an apartment developer. Per Kevin Allen, the developer might be contractually obligated to agree to reimburse the county if the project is not completed. This assumes the developer remains solvent.

Brown County Democrat – Article on the Project

• • Looking at unused potential: Housing project in works at site of former music venue; government assistance possible, Abigail Youmans -October 12, 2021, Brown County Democrat.
    • When the former Little Nashville Opry property was purchased this March many started to wonder what its future held after being vacant for more than 10 years.
    • The property has sat vacant since 2009 when the Opry was destroyed by fire. Now the property has a new future as owner Andrew Tilton plans to use it to fulfill a need here: More housing.
    • Those working on the project are communicating with county leaders about possible help in the forms of tax abatements, an economic development agreement or tax-increment financing.
    • He has been working with is Strongbox Commercial, a real estate development company out of Zionsville. Alyn Brown not only works for the company, but is also a member of the Nashville Utilities Service Board.
    • Tilton said that about two days after he purchased the property, he started receiving phone calls then meetings started about three weeks later.  “I closed on the property on March 2, shortly after that, the ball started rolling,” he said. “For real estate that’s super fast.”
    • Kevin Allen with BLN in Bloomington is the senior site designer involved in the civil engineering of the Opry property. He presented to the Utility Service Board on Sept. 22.
    • “We’re looking at every possible way to get (sewer) there,” Allen said. The Utilities Service Board agreed to work with M.S. Consultants to see what possible routes the developers could take.

Background – Nashville Sewer Expansion. The Nashville Utility Service Board (USB). The USB developed a master plan for expanding sewers that includes the former Little Nashville Opry property. Nashville has not selected this expansion as a priority at this time.  And there has been no county public meetings that identified that the county will fund sections of the Nashville sewer expansion.

• • Nashville Sanitary Sewer Master Plan
  • Nashville Utility Services Board (USB):

    • President Pam Gould (term ends 12-31-2026);  Vice-President Alyn Brown (term ends 12-31-2027); Secretary Nancy Crocker (term ends 12-31-2027); Jim Cramer (term ends 12-31-2025); Tom Roberts (term ends 12-31-2026)

County Comprehensive Plan.  A TIF district requires the establishment of an Economic Development Area (EDA).  TIF districts and the likely effect on Zoning could be developed and included as an addendum to a new County Comprehensive Plan.  This plan identifies what the “citizens” (not developers/local politicos) want and do not want in terms of economic development and quality of life.  Any proposed TIF districts can be added as a layer on the county GIS map to help communicate the TIF plan to the citizenry to get community buy-in.  This layer can also include what Nashville has identified in its sewer expansion areas.
Individuals in government positions should also disclose any conflicts of interest.

Economic Tax Baseline:  RDC – County Property Tax Assessments and Taxes- Database – Notes