Boyceville’s TIF District #2 in financial distress
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By Amber Hayden
BOYCEVILLE — Senator Patty Schachtner visited Boyceville on Tuesday, March 10, to discuss with the village board the financial distress of Tax-Increment Financing (TIF) District #2.
TIF District #2, which is bounded to the north by State Highway 170 and to the west by State Highway 79 and includes the airport, Boyceville Cenex, the new fire station, ServPro, the US Post Office and several commercial and residential dwellings, was created in 1996 and after the three year extension, which extended the life of the district until 2023, TIF 2 is projected to have a deficit of $3.1 million.
Dave Rassmussen, MSA Professional Services, explained to Schachtner he was unsure when the improvements were done, but he was sure it was done prior to 2004 when a law went into effect stating TIF districts had until five years before the life expectency of the district ended to do improvements.
“There just wasn’t enough funding to pay for the repairs,” Rassmussen explained.
Boyceville is hoping to extend TIF District #2 another 10 to 15 years beyond the current statute, which would allow the village to get the fund balance out of the negative.
“First thing is to reach out to my office,” explained Schachtner. “And express that the village is in need of help, but we would need the whole story.”
Schachtner also told village board members to look at the story as a sandwich. Metaphorically the bread being the good parts about Boyceville, and the inside being what needs fixing.
“Because we are rural Wisconsin, we tend to not want to brag about ourselves,” the senator stated.
Schachtner asked the village board, “What does Boyceville have that would bring kids back to the village after college and how do you build opportunities for them?”
The population of Boyceville is 1,086, but several stores sit empty on main street that could be used for someone looking to start up a new business, according to Schachtner.
“Look at other communities that had been in the same position and ask what they did,” said Schachtner. “Ask yourselves how do we let Boyceville residents know what is out there and how to use it locally.”
The senator asked if there had been a housing study done in Boyceville, to which village president Gib Kruger said he was unsure.
A housing study would allow the village to see how many residents live within Boyceville and show if it was a rental property or owned by the residents.
Village board members and Rassmussen agreed with Schachtner’s comments and asked what would be the worst that could happen or do nothing.
“There are issues like this happening all over rural Wisconsin,” Schachtner said. “You need to get the statistical data, and also think outside the box to build opportunities.”
