A proposed TIF district in southern Greene County is being met with strong opposition by some local leaders and community members. The Carrollton City Council passed a TIF proposal developed by Moran Economic Development. The proposed TIF district in Carrollton would encompass all of the town square including almost all of the area along Routes 108 and 67 and go over to the west to include Boyd Memorial Hospital. One aspect of the TIF district is that all parcels of land included must be contiguous. There are 261 parcels of property included in the proposed TIF district area and certain qualifications have to be met on the majority of the parcels included in the area.
Several of the conditions deal with property age, availability of utilities, and property values. Over 50 percent of the buildings in the district are over 35 years old with 261 of the properties qualifying as deteriorated. Vacant buildings account for 14 percent of the TIF area. Moran’s findings also determined that the city’s water system is over 60-80 years old in some places. Moran also stated that the property values within the district are pulling in less property tax money than they were 4 years ago due to declining values.
Members of the Carrollton Chamber of Commerce, Carrollton Superintendent Mark Halwachs, and other community members voiced their opposition to the proposed district on Wednesday last week. Halwachs led the special meeting held at the Carrollton Grade School. Halwachs said the claim that districts who have a TIF will be compensated by the State for the loss in funding is erroneous, according to a report from the Greene Prairie Press. Halwachs says that the proposed growth that the TIF district has forecasted is also a false promise. Halwachs believes that businesses may come there but their children will stay in other school districts, further prohibiting growth.
The City Council will vote to formally adopt the TIF district at their next meeting that will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12, at City Hall.