The Plymouth Redevelopment Commission heard from financial consultants Baker Tilly on the financial health of the city’s TIF districts.
Starting with TIF district number one — the U.S. 30, Oak Road economic development area — two projects are being paid for out of the funds coming in. In 2015 the city undertook improvements to the waterworks for just over $5.5 million. The city then issued just over $2.6 million in bonds for the renovations to City Hall with both being paid out of TIF money from TIF 1.
While City Hall is not located in the TIF district the activities there benefit all TIF districts in the city so that project was added to TIF 1.
The Waterworks bonds issued in 2015 will mature in June of 2040 and the TIF zone will sunset in July of that year. Baker-Tilly estimates that there will be a surplus of over $3.3 million in the funds after the final bond payment in 2040, based on the Redevelopment Commission continuing to allow $18 million of those revenues to “pass through” to the other taxing units. Currently, the Hoham Drive renovation project is underway in that TIF district.
TIF #2 was created in 2001 and some of the projects involved were purchasing floodplain property —much of which has become River Park Square as well as water infrastructure projects and the addition of Metronet fiber internet capability at around $2 million, with an additional $1.555 million bond issue for River Park Square in 2012. The original allocation areas will sunset on June 30 of 2028.
The city recently added the Water Street townhome project with a bond issue of $1.06 million.
When the district sunsets in 2048, it too will have a significant balance projected at just over $1 million.
TIF #3, the U.S. 30, Pine Road development area came online to make infrastructure improvements including sewer lines and a lift station at Pine Road, along with a proposed “technology park” in 2006, Metronet fiber in 2012, improvements in the area of the current Pretzels Inc. and the Bardwell Aquatic Center. When the TIF sunsets in 2034 Baker Tilly projects that it will also have a healthy projected cash balance of over $5.5 million.
Attached to TIF #3 is TIF #7 created to allow a major expansion for Pretzel’s Inc. for nearly $10 million giving the company assessed property taxes in order to fund infrastructure for the expansion.
TIF #4, the South Gateway and western downtown area enacted to create the Rivergate South apartments provides a tax abatement for the structure.
TIF #5 was created for Winona Corporation in order to allow them to use their property taxes to pay for equipment brought into their building on Western Avenue. The board was informed that Winona has not paid their property taxes the past two years but no city revenue is involved in the process so there is no loss to the city.
TIF #6 is a similar arrangement on Plymouth-Goshen Trail for the Centennial Crossings project to pay for infrastructure improvements in the area of the housing complex.
That balance is projected by Baker Tilly to have just over $5 million on the positive side when it sunsets in 2040.
The board was reminded that the numbers were projections based on current situations in each district that involve many variable factors such as destruction of property by acts of God, tax assessments, tax collection, and tax rates as well as circuit breaker tax credits and any property tax relief that might be enacted.
