Marathon City vows to fight TIF changes
By Kevin O’Brien
Village officials in Marathon City made it clear last week that they would fight any attempts by the county to limit or rein in tax-incremental finance districts as a tool for economic development.
Responding to a March 22 article in The Record-Review about Marathon County possibly forming a task force to examine the effects of TIF districts on county finances, village trustees said they want to make their own interests known before any action is taken.
Village administrator Andy Kurtz called the board’s attention to the article at its April 5 meeting, warning that county officials are operating off misinformation about TIF districts and their effect on local governments and taxpayers.
“There is a fundamental misunderstanding of how TIF works, and there are individuals who are misrepresenting how TIF is used, what the benefits are and what the impacts are on all of the taxing entities,” he said. “That is gaining traction with people who are not fully educated on how TIF works, and they are looking to wrap their arms around it to control municipalities because they think it’s out of control.”
In a basic sense, TIF districts operate by diverting property tax dollars from any new developments in a designated area into a fund that is used to cover the costs associated with those developments. Money that would normally go to the area school district, technical schools and county government is instead spent on local infrastructure projects and building incentives.
City and village officials generally see TIF districts as an essential tool for encouraging economic development that would otherwise not happen, but critics say the districts deprive government of needed revenue and shift the tax burden to homeowners.
Kurtz said limiting the power of TIF districts would create “a significant barrier” to what Marathon City and every other municipality in the county does for economic development. He urged trustees to educate themselves about the issue and be prepared to speak to the county board about their thoughts as village offi cials.
Trustee Connie Ruplinger noted that Marathon City was mentioned in the article as one of two municipalities that has expressed interest in participating in the task force, which would give village officials an opportunity to influence the discussions.
Before any TIF district is formed, a joint review board is formed consisting of one representative each from the municipality, the county, the school district and the technical schools. This board reviews the municipality’s TIF project plan, which includes financial projections and tax impacts, before voting to create the district. Municipalities are required to provide annual TIF updates to joint review boards and get their approval for any district expansions or time extensions.
Kurtz said county officials are “looking to influence how the joint review board operates and makes decisions.”
At the March 8 meeting of the county’s Human Resources, Finance and Capital Committee, committee chairman John Robinson suggested the task force could help develop an official county position on when TIF districts should be granted extensions. Board chairman Kurt Gibbs said the county may want to support legislation that gives counties “more teeth” on TIF-related questions.
“I think some of the TIFs have been questionable in what they’ve yielded,” Robinson said. “What criteria do we want to apply toward TIFs?”
The county committee took no action March 8 to create a task force, but Robinson and Gibbs said they would like to invite municipalities to discuss the TIF issue in the future.
Trustee Keith Paul wondered if the village has a way to legally challenge any changes attempted by the county.
Kurtz said he would share his concerns with the League of Municipalities and the village’s consultants who work on TIF plans and projects. He believes the task force’s goal would be to give more control to the county and less to municipalities when it comes to TIF districts.
“The approach that is being proposed here I think is dangerous and puts Marathon County at a significant disadvantage to every other developed county around us, and statewide,” he said.
Trustees said they would not only be willing to speak to the county board about their concerns, but would also like to invite county officials to a meeting at the village for a discussion.
Marathon City has used TIF funds for a variety of projects, including the expansion of its business park north of STH 29. According to Kurtz, the village’s TIF District 1 has added $79.1 million in equalized property value to the village since 2015, with another $8 million in growth expected in coming years.
Other business
The board awarded a $608,077 bid to Switlick and Sons for extending waste-water lines on North Ridge Road as part of a larger project to provide sewer services to the business park north of STH 29. The project will also involve removing a lift station on Maratech Avenue, installing a gravity collection line and widening and paving North Ridge Road. Kurtz said a temporary access road will be installed from Maratech Avenue to provide access for residents.
The board approved the purchase of a new camera for the village’s newly acquired police vehicle, at a total cost of $9,880 over five years from Digital Alley. Kurtz said the cost of the new camera will be covered by the difference in salaries between retiring police chief Kory Gertschen and his replacement, who is to be hired later this year.
The board approved a resolution supporting the expansion of pedestrian facilities within the village, which was required as part of accepting a grant from the Wisconsin DOT for extending a walking trail from East Street past Marathon Elementary and Little Lions Childcare to the new softball/baseball complex. The Transportation Alternatives Program grant will cover 80 percent, or about $520,000, of the estimated project cost.
The board approved the following appointments: Andy Berens and Bruce Bohr to the utility commission; Mike Telford and Andy Berens to the redevelopment authority; Connie Stieber and Bruce Ruplinger to the planning commission; and Maureen Anklam, Jeff Dirks, Paul Buchberger, and Gerald Seurbert to the board of appeals. Ryan Brewster was approved as a firefighter and Anna Bentler as a first responder.
Kurtz told the board that the village will save about $3,000 per year on electricity costs once Wisconsin Public Service replaces a total of 113 standard streetlights with LEDs.
Kurtz announced that Lori Fuller has been hired to replace Brenda Sorenson to clean the village library.
The recent run of freezing and thawing has created many potholes in the village, which will be repaired with hot mix patches once the area’s asphalt plant opens up for the year, Kurtz said.
The board approved an alcohol operator’s license for Kristy Lang at the RStore.
