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Strategies <br />The following strategies were developed to address the above <br />objectives. Table B illustrates what strategies address each <br />objective. The strategies include: <br />1. Establish a Ramsey County Tax Increment Authority. This <br />would allow the County to create its own TIF districts. In <br />so doing, the County would be able to play a major role in <br />the creation, management and cost implications of tax <br />increment financing. <br />Although this strategy could help Ramsey County become <br />involved in economic development, it would not address the <br />County's objectives of managing the growth of TIF or limiting <br />its impact on the tax base. In addition, because Ramsey <br />County is almost fully incorporated, this strategy could be <br />difficult to implement. <br />2. Establish a joint powers review board to serve as the TIF <br />authority with county, school district and city <br />representatives. This would provide for county and school <br />district representation in the TIF decision - making process. <br />3. Provide counties and school districts with the power to veto <br />the creation of TIF districts. This action would give <br />counties and school districts direct input into the creation <br />of TIF districts. <br />4. Place a cap on the percent of the tax base captured by TIF <br />using a formula applied to each municipality including <br />factors such as each municipality's population and tax base. <br />This will limit TIF activity and provide control over the <br />escalating growth. <br />5. Place a cap on the percent of the tax base captured by TIF. <br />The cap would be set at a fixed percentage like Wisconsin's <br />five percent cap. Communities already over the fixed cap <br />would have to either limit new TIF activity and /or decertify <br />existing TIF districts. <br />6. Decrease the maximum allowable time a TIF district may exist <br />in order to allow an earlier return to the tax rolls. <br />7. Develop specific limits on pooling and the use of excess tax <br />increments, including clarifying the legislative intent of <br />returning excess tax increments to counties and school <br />districts. This action would limit the impact of TIF on the <br />tax bases of counties and permit both counties and school <br />districts to benefit from TIF as soon as possible. <br />8. Eliminate the use of pooling altogether and require that <br />excess tax increments, up to the amount required to retire <br />debt, be placed into a debt service /escrow account to be used <br />only for retiring the district's debt. This will have the <br />same implications as #7. <br />Page 93 <br />