Thursday, November 14, 2019

Wisconsin Governor Extends Lake Delton Tax Incremental Districts

The Governor of Wisconsin has signed into Law Senate Bill 391, now Act 21- which extends the duration of tax incremental financing for Lake Delton in districts 3 and 4.  This extends the life of these TID districts.  TID 3 is extended to the year 2042.  TID 4 is extended to the year 2044.

Tax incremental financing districts are subject to wide variation in design and interpretation.  The Village of Lake Delton - enabled by State Legislation partners with private business operators to designate an agreed upon area as a TIF - tax incremental financing district.  This includes calculating the amount of property tax revenue that the project will generate for the next 20 years or more.

The calculation of projected revenue includes taxes on the project itself as well as the expected tax increases on the other properties in the district - related to the increased assessed value due to the implementation of TIF.  The money can then be sequestered to support the projects current needs and make development in the TIF district possible.  This enables the Village of Lake Delton to compensate private developers for their investments.

With Lake Delton making up a large part of the greater Wisconsin Dells area - community planners are being challenged to demonstrate evidence that the extended use of TIF - tax incremental financing is delivering economic benefits to the entire area.  This is tracking the economy wide benefits throughout the Wisconsin Dells area.

A key benchmark to an economy wide benefit would involve a larger population of residents in the off season.  This simply means inhabited properties from September 15th to about April 15th.  The larger population of residents helps off set the increased expense of attracting the more than 4500 work experience travelers who come from outside of the Country to temporarily live in the Wisconsin Dells area to support the local summer tourism efforts.

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