Mike Wolanin | The Republic A sign marks the site where Toyota Material Handling’s new electric forklift plant expansion will be located at Toyota Material Handling North America in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, May 29, 2024.
COLUMBUS, Ind. — The Columbus City Council has approved a resolution to take the next step in extending the central tax increment financing (TIF) district so it includes the site of a local company’s future 260,000 square-foot manufacturing facility.
The vote was 8-0. Council member Chris Bartels, R-District 1, was absent.
The Columbus Redevelopment Commission is in the process of extending the Central Economic Development Area TIF District to include the recently annexed and rezoned Toyota Material Handling expansion site on the north side of Deaver Road at I-65, next to their current facility.
A TIF district is a mechanism that allows the redevelopment commission to siphon off increasing property taxes in a selected area to fund projects intended to benefit the community.
Extending a TIF district is a four-step process, according to Columbus Director of Redevelopment Heather Pope.
The redevelopment commission first had to pass a declaratory resolution on the matter, which they did on May 20, followed by a review by the plan commission. State law requires the plan commission review the redevelopment commission’s plans to ensure they’re consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan — the commission did that on June 12.
The third step is city council approval, then it returns back to the redevelopment commission for the consideration of a confirmatory resolution, the final step that’ll be considered during their next meeting on July 15.
If and when that confirmatory resolution is approved, all overlapping taxing units will be notified of the changes, along with the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF), according to Pope.
For the complete story, see Saturday’s Republic.
