Cromwell commission creates TIF
By Kelly Lynch | KPC Media
CROMWELL — The Cromwell Redevelopment Commission established its tax increment financing district Monday evening after more than a year of discussion.
The commission was founded by Cromwell Town Council members in April 2015, and nearly a year and a half later, commissioners approved a declaratory and confirmatory resolution creating Cromwell TIF Area 1.
The district is bounded by the town’s railroad tracks on the north side, Second Street to the south, North Jefferson Street to the west and the town limits to the east. This area includes Big C Lumber Inc. and Egg Innovations LLC, with the latter’s expansion investment the catalyst for the TIF area.
Egg Innovations chose to expand in Cromwell only after the town promised a five-year tax abatement as well as the creation of a TIF district for the $3.4 million investment of building a new organic feed mill.
Future investments and increases in property taxes generated within the TIF district now can be used to finance capital improvements at the Egg Innovations site or other areas of town. In the past, Egg Innovations spoke of the potential extension of Olive Street to its site as a high priority, which could be funded by the town through TIF revenue.
The company’s investment would have increased the town’s assessed property value from about $10 million to more than $13 million, lowering the local tax rate. Instead, the increase in property tax revenue that will take place when Egg Innovations’ abatement is completed in 2020 will go to the town and not other taxing jurisdictions, such as West Noble School Corp., the Noble County Public Library and the local solid waste district.
Because of that, the school district could see a loss of about $10,000 to its capital projects fund and a $2,000 decrease in its bus replacement fund once the abatement is finished, said financial consultant Stephen Carter of Carter Dillon Umbaugh LLC.
West Noble Treasurer Barbara Fought commented that while establishing the TIF district won’t itself have a large impact on the district, when added to existing tax cap issues, it has negative consequences.
She said the TIF district potentially would take $10,000 from the school corporation’s transportation fund as well.
“Even though it’s an impact, it’s not a great impact,” Fought said. “But still, considering what we’re already losing in tax caps on the other side, it just makes that chasm a little farther.”
The TIF district was approved 4-0 by members Doug Ewell, DeVon Miller, Mike Hatfield and Jerry Pauley.
