Rushville to Adopt Residential TIF, Create Housing
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe city of Rushville is one of the first in the state to establish a residential tax increment funding district. The city says the TIF would be used to facilitate the growth of new housing developments in the community.
“We have too many people that live here and commute elsewhere or live out of town and commute here. We’d like those people living here,” said Rushville Mayor Mike Pavey.
TIF districts collect new tax revenue from development and then use that money for infrastructure that is intended to encourage future development. In this case, the development of new housing would take place on vacant city-owned property that currently doesn’t generate tax revenue.
“It’s very much the same in the sense that all new assessment is captured, and it is used to offset the cost of infrastructure that we have,” said John McCane, executive director, Rush County Economic & Community Development Corp.
The Indiana legislature in February 2019 approved a bill authorizing redevelopment commissions in counties with a population of fewer than 100,000 people to establish a TIF for residential housing growth.
“The City of Rushville has taken a proactive approach on new housing,” said Pavey. “We live far enough away from Indianapolis that developers aren’t looking at us organically. Rushville will serve as the developer, and we are actively discussing our ability to partner with home builders.”
McCane says residential taxpayers won’t see a difference in what they pay on property taxes. He says they’ll be assessed as they would on any other new residential home.
“If their property taxes are $2,000, they remain $2,000,” explained McCane “It’s just we’re capturing the $2,000 on the residential TIF instead of a portion going out to the school, to the county into the library, or whatever.”
McCane says the Rush county school system has already agreed to the TIF because they’re currently getting zero dollars in property tax from the city or school-owned vacant lots.
“So, we’re very pleased that the school corporation saw the value of what we’re doing,” said McCane. “Our goal is to bring in more people to the community and help more students to their school system.”
Pavey says the city hopes to generate $2 million over 20 years to put towards the housing efforts.
“It’s by no means a silver bullet that’s going to pay for everything. It isn’t, but it’s going to ease the pain of having to go out and do a bond issue,” said McCane.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, the executive director of the Rush County EDC John McCane said the TIF is about buildng a community.