Letter: Tax Increment Financing: A continued discussion

There’s been a lot of talk lately about tax increment finance (TIF) districts and how Huntingburg has been using them lately.  I think this is a healthy discussion that needs to be had.

I think it’s important to step back and ask ourselves what the main goal of a TIF district is. TIFs should be used to attract capital investment to blighted areas, provide a means for redevelopment, and allows tax receipts to fund the capital improvements. All of these things are great. This is what TIF is meant to do.

The discussion that keeps coming up is with Huntingburg’s use of their TIF districts.

Huntingburg initially used its TIF districts to attract businesses. The record is clear. OFS Brands, Parke-Bell, Farbest Foods and others have benefited from past use of the TIF districts.

Per the Indiana Gateway financial information, Huntingburg’s TIF districts have increased the assessed value in these districts by 46 million dollars using 2013 numbers.

My concerns are with the continued use of these TIF districts.

The longer these TIF districts are maintained, the longer the at least 46 million in increased assessed value stays in the TIF and is unable to be utilized by the school corporation.

The longer these TIF districts are maintained, the longer TIF dollars can be used for non-essential redevelopment projects which do not explicitly attract new industry to the area. Are non-essential projects the best use of TIF dollars?

The longer these TIF districts are maintained, the longer Huntingburg’s tax rate is going to be increased higher than necessary.  If Huntingburg’s total AV would increase (by bringing the AV from inside the TIF to outside the TIF) and spending stayed flat, the tax rate would come down.

There are many tradeoffs in this discussion.  I think it’s important not to have an either or attitude about TIF districts. I do believe TIF districts are a great tool. It is important to be aware of these tradeoffs so we can influence the city council to make the wisest decision possible.

Brady Werne
Fiscally Concerned Huntingburg Citizen