Stratford plans additional TIF development
By Kevin O’Brien
Stratford officials are looking to redevelop several areas of the village using taxincremental financing, but as of right now, there are no specific projects in the works, according to village president Keith Grell.
At a pair of back-to-back meetings on Aug. 27, members of the village’s planning commission and board of trustees approved a resolution to amend the project plan for TIF district 4 (TID 4), which was created in 2015 to facilitate mixed-use development in the village.
TID 4’s boundaries encircle most of the village, and the property taxes on any new developments within the district can be used to pay for a variety of infrastructure improvements, including demolition of blighted properties and extension or replacement of water, sewer and streets.
Because the property taxes on new developments are not shared with the local school district, technical college and Marathon County – as is normally done – representatives from those taxing jurisdictions are invited to sit on a Joint Review Board. The JRB, which also met on Aug. 27 to review the proposed TID amendment, will be asked to approve the new plan on Sept. 16.
Brian Reilly, senior municipal advisor for Ehlers Public Finance Advisors, told village officials last week that the JRB is responsible for making sure that all of the statutory requirements are met for amending a TIF district, and he’s confident this has been accomplished by the proposal developed by Ehlers. JRB members need to sign off on the amendment before it is sent to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue for certification.
“They don’t get to say yes or no because they like it or they don’t,” he told the planning commission. “They have a series of findings that they need to make, basically looking at what you’ve done, and if you satisfy the requirements under law, they’re supposed to check that box.”
Reilly said the amended plan includes just
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under $5 million in new project costs that will become eligible for TIF reimbursement once the amendment is adopted. The increased costs are “primarily associated with something you have on the plate presently,” he said, but he did not mention any specific proposals.
“This is conceptual in nature,” he said. “The village may or may not spend that much.”
Grell also alluded to future development prospects within TID 4, but he did not mention specifics.
“I think most of you know the history of why we’re to this point,” he told trustees.
According to the project plan, a total of $4.8 million in expenditures is anticipated, which includes $2.5 million for “street and utility improvements” and $1.5 million for “development incentives and reimbursements,” with the rest of the money going toward financing costs, interest on long-term debt and administrative costs.
Under the plan, a total of $16.5 million in new development is anticipated over the remaining 12 years of TID 4’s lifespan, which will generate an estimated $8.8 million in tax revenue for the district. A chart in the plan forecasts $1.8 million of residential/multi-family construction in 2025 and 2026, plus $3.5 million in industrial development in 2027, 2030 and 2033.
Village officials have recently discussed a possible housing development being built somewhere in the village, but it’s unclear if the proposed TID 4 plans are related to that proposal.
“We have no definite plans as of right now,” Grell wrote in an email this week. “To the best of my knowledge we are just being proactive for any future developers’ agreements.”
The amended project plan, prepared by Ehlers, includes a map with about 30 privatelyowned parcels that were added to TID 4 as part of an amendment passed in 2017.
A total of 21 of these parcels are located in the area around the intersection of Highways 97 and 153, two are on the north side of STH 153 near Zion Cemetery and one is just north of the homes on Jonathan Drive.
Since it was first opened in 2015, Reilly said TID 4 has generated over $29 million in new property value that has been “captured” to generate funds for further investments.
“So, it’s been very successful,” he said. “It has served its stated purpose of promoting additional development in the village. There is still some room to grow in that regard.”
