With the community in mind, the newly-formed Redevelopment Commission and City Tax Increment Finance Board meetings were held Thursday.

As the saying goes, both meetings went ‘smooth as silk’ in getting Greensburg and Decatur County prepared for Honda.

Attorney Richard Hall of Barnes and Thornburg LLP, has been hired to assist the Redevelopment Commission in its initial stages. The inaugural meeting of the Commission allowed Hall the opportunity to present the idea of making the Honda site a TIF district.

The County Commissioners selected five members of the community to serve the state-law mandated one-year term limit on the Commission. Don Schilling; Mark Schabel; Brad Buening; Dan Wilson and Mike Walker will all serve on the Board until Dec. 31, 2007, at which time new members will need to be appointed by the Commissioners.

As the first step in establishing a TIF area, Hall explained, the Commission needed to open the floor for nominations of president, vice president and secretary. The nominees were Mark Schabel as president; Mike Walker as vice president; Brad Buening as secretary and Bridgette Weber as treasurer. The Commission must put together a formal plan, which Hall and others from Barnes and Thornburg LLP are assisting with, for the development of the targeted TIF area.

A TIF district in Indiana permits a city, town or county, through a local redevelopment commission, to designate targeted areas for redevelopment or economic development. Those areas can then be designated as “allocation areas” which triggers the TIF area. After such a designation is made, any property taxes generated from new construction in the area can be set aside and invested back in the area to promote development, rather than going back to the normal taxing units such as schools, cities and counties.

What this means is, the money generated from Honda property taxes will be used to pay for bonds taken out by the county to pay for the infrastructure costs to prepare the site.

“The goal Honda wants for the community is no one’s taxes to go up to pay for their arrival,” Hall explains. “With the development of the TIF district, the Honda plant will be able to generate money to pay for the construction and utilities itself.”

The Commission next got an update on utilities.

According to analysis, the current supply of fresh water and facilities to treat waste water are not enough to handle additions to the community. A new reservoir, water tower and water treatment plant may be on future agendas.

“The money from the TIF district around Honda will help cover costs for the new utilities,” Hall said. “The plant will be self-sufficient, in a way, with the TIF district in place.”

Next City TIF Board meeting is set for August 9 at 7 p.m. in the community meeting room.

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