Shorewood Board Set To Discuss Tax Increment District Creation

SHOREWOOD, WI — The Community Development Authority will consider adopting a policy that provides direction on tax increment district (TID) creation and tax increment financing (TIF) assistance the Jan. 25 village board meeting.

Tax increment financing (TIF) is a tool used by municipal governments to stimulate economic development in a targeted geographical area. TIFs are used to finance redevelopment projects or other investments using the anticipation of future tax revenue resulting from new development.

According to village officials, the policy breaks down into five sections: (1) public assistance process, (2) requirements and evaluation criteria, (3) TIF goals, (4) policy statements, and (5) hiring and contracting for TIF funded projects.

For the public assistance process, village officials said it captures three phases for staff and officials when a project is asking for TIF assistance. In each phase, staff would compare the project to the village’s plans, priorities and goals.

If the proposed project is not consistent with the village’s current zoning requirements, the party seeking assistance shall elect whether to proceed with completion of the official application, village officials explained. If the party proceeds, it acknowledges that proceeding with a public assistance application does not grant an exception to any zoning requirements, nor guarantee for receipt of assistance.

Zoning is regulated by village ordinance and state statutes, a separate process from a request for public financial assistance. Further details of each phase can be found in the policy, which is included in the Village Board agenda packet.

In Section 5, the policy provides incentive for qualifying projects to receive additional financial assistance if formal solicitation of bids or proposals to ensure notice and availability to a business owned by persons who are consistent with a protected class, and/or have more than 60% of their workforce consisting of protected classes.

If residents have any questions about the proposed policy, call 414-847-2701 or email rewald@villageofshorewood.org.