Tax Increment Financing District Update

In November, the City Council approved a City Center TIF District change request.  The City is close to the end of the time to finance City Center projects and more is known now then when the plan was first approved. The Council has approved many projects for funding and design – with three completed:  Market Street, City Center Park and the South Burlington Public Library and City Hall at 180 Market Street. 

Four others are in design:  Garden Street (partially approved for construction), Williston Road Streetscape (has $800,000 in Federal Funding), the Pedestrian Bicycle Bridge over I-89 (has $9.7 M in Federal Funding), and the boardwalk connection between Market Street, Garden Street and City Center Park. 

The City is requesting that four projects be removed from the TIF District Plan.  These projects are not required by the TIF District and are unlikely to be funded.  They include a public parking garage, an urban park, stormwater and wetland mitigation (this is being provided by a private developer), and the Recreation Center.  The estimated total TIF District Financing to be sought has been adjust downward from $55M to $29M. 

The City has also adjusted the TIF District projected tax revenue over the life of the TIF District.  As development is expected to occur at a slower rate than previously estimated, the projected revenue numbers have been adjusted downwards.  The approved change request estimates a total of $43M through 2037 as opposed to just under $100M.  As the total development area and value of what expected to occur has not changed as significantly, the overall tax base benefit to the City and the Education Fund at the conclusion of the TIF District is similar to the plan in 2015.  At the end of the Life of the TIF District, the project is expected to yield an estimated $2,000,000 in annual revenue for the City and estimated nearly $5 million annual tax revenue for the State Education Fund.  In each year leading up to 2037, 25% of the annual tax revenues from new development in the TIF District go to City and the State Ed Fund, with 75% going to the TIF District Fund to service financing for TIF District projects.