pf_03405 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Counties. When tax increment districts are decertified, counties also share in the increased tax base. Counties thus experience an increase in property tax revenues without investing dollars to finance the redevelopment that creates this increase. Counties also benefit if TIF is used to concentrate development in the central cities and inner-ring suburbs. As development moves further out to the fringes of metro areas, county roads experience heavier use, which translates into higher costs to maintain and service these roads. In contrast, county roads within central cities and inner-ring suburbs are generally co- maintained by the county and the city and have been designed to withstand heavy traffic. School Districts. Under pre-1979 TIF districts, cities were able to help finance construction of schools. This allowed school districts to build new schools in newly-developed or redeveloped areas. This is no longer an option for the use of tax increment financing. School districts, like cities and counties, have received increased tax revenues as a result of tax increment financed development. Once tax increment districts are decertified, the total assessed property value is available for school district levies. An argument frequently made is that the creation of a tax increment district reduces the amount of tax revenue available to school districts. This argument was never valid, however, since school district funding has always been a combination of a property tax levy and a state aid payment, which resulted in schools always receiving the full revenue to which they were entitled. In 2001, the state legislature took over the financing of public schools; since then, school districts have no longer been funded through the property tax system. The State. The state gives aid to local governments under three major intergovernmental aid programs: education aid for local school districts; local government aid for cities, counties, and towns; and property tax credit reimbursements for all local taxing districts. The calculation of aid under each of these programs is affected directly or indirectly by the amount of assessed property value in the local taxing district. As assessed property values 9