City of Beloit to Host Workshop on Possible West-Side Tax Incremental District

West Side TID Meeting Planned for Tuesday, May 26

The City of Beloit is exploring a potential tax incremental district (TID) in the Madison Road area to help encourage development and improvements along the corridor. The community, including property owners and residents in the area, are invited to a planning workshop at 11am Tuesday, May 26, at Dita’s on the West Side, 1569 S. Madison Road. The workshop will explore possible boundaries and identify areas to target for improvements.

The city previously held an introductory meeting last week Thursday, April 30, to kick off discussions with the west-side residents. A group of 55 individuals came to the presentation to get an overview of tax incremental financing and ask questions about the process.

“Over time, we’ve heard from residents and businesses about the need to reinvest in and strengthen development along the Madison Road corridor,” said Drew Pennington, Economic Development Director for the City of Beloit. “This workshop is an important next step to gather input and work collaboratively with the community to shape what that future could look like.”

In Wisconsin, municipalities are limited in how much total property value can be included within tax incremental districts. Until recently, the City of Beloit had reached that limit. With the recent closure of several TIDs, additional capacity is now available, which allows the city to explore creating a new TID along the Madison Road corridor.

How a TID Works

1.    The value of properties located within the TID boundary when the TID is created becomes the “Base Value” of the TID. The property taxes associated with the base value are still used for regular services such as public safety, education, and public services by each of the taxing entities (City, School District, County, Tech College).

2.    The city upgrades public infrastructure within the TID by fixing roads, adding sidewalks, improving lighting, or upgrading parks.

3.    The city works with existing property owners and developers to improve their properties or bring new businesses into the TID. All of these improvements increase the total property value of the TID. The added value to the TID, above the base value, is known as the “Increment”.

4.    The taxes generated from the increment remain within the TID and are used to help pay for the improvements that were made.

5.    After all the project costs are paid off (up to 27 years), the TID closes. All the newly created increment value gets added to the original base value and becomes available for public purposes, just like before the TID was created.