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Colfax approves sharing TID 4 revenue with TID 3

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX  —  The Colfax Village Board has approved sharing revenue from Tax Increment District 4 with Tax Increment District 3.

The village board approved sharing the revenue October 10 following a meeting of the Joint Review Board for the village’s tax increment districts and a meeting of the Colfax Plan Commission.

The plan commission recommended that the village board approve the resolution to share revenue from TID 4 with TID 3.

The Joint Review Board will consider whether to approve the proposal at a meeting October 31.

Representatives for the taxing jurisdictions that receive taxes from the property in the TID make up the Joint Review Board.

Members of the Joint Review Board included Scott Gunnufson (village); Steve Rasmussen (Dunn County Board); Dan Lytle (CVTC); Bill Yingst (Colfax school district) and Jeremy Klukas (public).

Sean Lentz of Ehlers & Associates, the village’s financial consultant, explained how tax increment districts work for those who might not be familiar with the concept.

A tax increment district has a base property value when the district is formed. Each of the taxing authorities receives their share of the property taxes from the base value in the TID for the life of the district. When improvements are made within the tax increment district, the property taxes that would have been paid on the improvements, instead of being paid to the taxing authorities, goes into a special fund for the village. The village can then use those funds to make further improvements in the TID, such as street projects, Lentz explained.

Tax increment districts are set up for either 20 or 27 years, he said.

When the TID is closed out, the property tax on the improvements is then paid to the taxing authorities in the district, Lentz said.

In order to share revenue with another TID, the receiving tax increment district must be considered “blighted,” he said.

TID 3 in Colfax has been declared a blighted district.

Blighted means that 50 percent of the district is blighted and is in need of rehabilitation, Lentz said.

TID 4, a mixed-use district, was created in 2006 and will close out in 2026.

According to the preliminary financial forecast, TID 4 has paid back all of the current expenditures and had a surplus of $19,000 in 2015, Lentz said.

TID 3 was created in 2002 and will close out in 2029.

The financial forecast for TID 3 is that with no further development, the district will experience a shortfall, Lentz said.

The process being considered by the Joint Review Board, the plan commission and the village board is to share TID 4’s revenue with TID 3, he said.

Members of the Colfax Plan Commission include Gary Stene, Dave Hovre, Nancy Hainstock, Jason Johnson, Mike Buchner and Gunnufson.

The plan commission held a public hearing on the proposal for sharing revenue between the two TIDs, although no one from public spoke at the public hearing.

Some of the projects that could be included in TID 3 for which money would be supplied by TID 4 are upgrading infrastructure, transportation, sidewalks and store fronts, Lentz said.

The Colfax Plan Commission unanimously approved a motion to recommend that the village board approve amending TID 4 to allow sharing of revenue with TID 3.

TID 4 is expected to generate $22,000 in revenue each year, Lentz said.

The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved amending TID 4 to allow the district to share revenue with TID 3.

The Joint Review Board will meet at the village hall at 5:30 p.m. October 31 to consider the proposal.

Other business 

In other business, the Colfax Village Board:

• Approved bartender operators’ licenses for Tarris Turner (American Legion) and Patrick L’Esperance (Express Mart) from October 10, 2016, to June 30, 2017.

• Approved a resolution to support and agree to be included in the 2016-2020 Dunn County Outdoor Recreation Plan.

• Learned that the Colfax Rescue Squad had gone out on 62 runs in September.