Ossian weighs pros and cons of TIF districts

Ossian Town Council members Monday night discussed the first step toward what they hope will make Ossian more attractive to business and industry.

Members Brad Pursley, Tom Neuenschwander, Josh Barkley and Bill Miller discussed forming a Tax Increment Financing district that will capture new tax revenues and channel those revenues toward the development of, in Ossian’s case, open ground to attract new industries to the town.
 

Typically with a TIF, a community issues a municipal bond to pay for building a new street, sewers and water lines and then uses that as a selling tool to attract a new industry. Or, if an industry expresses a desire to build a new factory in the town, the town could establish a TIF district to recoup debt generated by necessary infrastructure improvements.

The TIF district allows the additional property tax revenue that’s generated by a new industry to be channeled toward repaying the bonds or debt created in some other manner. Schools, libraries, and the county receive only the taxes that were generated by the property prior to the arrival of the industry.
 

Click here to see a visual representation, and learn more in the Tuesday, Jan. 14, News-Banner.