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After designating a site for the project area and analyzing the economic feasibility of proposals for a TIF district, the city or authority must prepare a plan for the project area and a tax increment finance plan. The project area plan is a legal guide for planning and implementing a development, redevelopment, port, industrial development, or rural development district/project area (DEED, 1984). When a tax increment district is established, the county auditor freezes the assessed value of the property within that district. This means that the auditor records the assessed value of the property prior to the beginning of any development activities. The taxes derived from this assessed valuation are distributed to all of the taxing jurisdictions, as usual. After the development is completed, the county auditor then unfreezes the value and records the new assessed value, which results in higher property taxes paid on that property. The difference between the new assessed value and the frozen assessed value is called thel tax increment. Tax increment financing enables a city or other jurisdiction to capture the additional property taxes generated by the development that would otherwise have gone to other taxing jurisdictions. These additional taxes can then be used to finance public development costs related to the new development. By assisting in this way, cities, counties, and other jurisdictions* are able to stimulate private development which might not otherwise occur and, at the same time, promote development in areas that may be blighted or otherwise unlikely to be developed. Benefits of T1F. TIF has many public benefits, including enhancement of the local property tax base, more efficient use of public infrastructure, reduced social costs of blighted areas, and expanded employment opportunities. 2