The Oconto Falls City Council has engaged consulting firm Ehlers Inc. to guide the expansion of the city’s Tax Increment Financing District #3 to support pending commercial development.
City Administrator Peter Wills told the council April 8 that developers have expressed interest in building new residential units in the city.
“What I’m trying to look at is a potential apartment development project and looking at a potential housing subdivision,” Wills said. “We have only four amendments you can add to a TID, so we’re trying to include both of those in this amendment.”
Under a TID, a municipality can retain the additional property tax revenue generated by new development for a period of 20 years.
Oconto Falls TID #3 was created in the fall of 2023 and covers a substantial area of the city, especially downtown where revitalization has become a priority. Ehlers municipal adviser Joe Murray outlined a proposal where his firm would guide the city through the expansion and perform a lot of the technical work.
“That would be to help write up the TIF project plan, issue the necessary meeting notices that you need to file for the public in the paper,” Murray said. “We’d need to work with the city on getting the necessary maps and those sort of things, but we would pull together the project plan, get you through the process.”
The council approved a $20,000 fee to hire Ehlers, which can be paid using revenues generated by the TID.
Wills said no projects have been formally submitted as yet.
“Amending boundaries now allows the city to take advantage of the increased assessed value when they are submitted,” he said.
wbluhm@newmedia-wi.com
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