ANDERSON – In a vote considered critical for future economic development, the Anderson City Council unanimously approved a bond issue for the Anderson Redevelopment Commission.
The commission received permission to issue a maximum $3 million bond to reimburse itself for projects already under way. The 25-year bond will be repaid through Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and not through property taxes received by the city.
TIF districts are created so that property taxes from new commercial, industrial and manufacturing businesses are captured and spent on infrastructure improvements within the district. Those improvements are then used as an economic development tool to lure more businesses to the city.
Prior to the meeting, several council members raised concerns about the way funds would be used, but those concerns were not brought up at the meeting.
“This was critical to the future of the city,” Greg Winkler, executive director of the Anderson Economic Development Department, said following the vote. “If this was not approved, the projects we’re working on would not move forward.”
Winkler said securing the funding was necessary to move the planned Purdue College of Technology and Flagship Maker Space project forward on Scatterfield Road that is expected to open in 2016.
During the meeting Winkler said the Redevelopment Commission has funded $4.2 million in several projects, but was seeking $3 million.
Ann Marie Bauer, attorney for the Redevelopment Commission, said the original TIF district was created in 1989 and is considered the city’s legacy district.
Last year, the Indiana General Assembly changed how cities could capture TIF revenues or issue bonds to be paid by TIF funds.
Bauer said if the bonds were not issued the city would lose the TIF district allocation on July 1, 2015.
“If the resolution passes it extends the allocation area to 2040,” she said. “This allows the Redevelopment Commission the ability to fund projects through 2040.”
Council President Donna Davis, D-2nd District, was the only person to question the proposal.
“It’s hard to approve funding for projects already done,” she said.
Council attorney Tim Lanane, the Democratic Party minority leader in the Indiana Senate, said the legislature assigned an expiration date for legacy TIF districts unless a bond was issued using the funds. This allows the city to continue to use the historical TIF taxing district for economic development and capital improvement projects, he said.
“I recommend you do adopt the resolution,” Lanane said. “This reimburses the Anderson Redevelopment Commission and extends the life of the legacy district.”