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The Kosciusko County Redevelopment Commission held a lengthy meeting with Reedy Financial about the tax increment finance districts within the county, along with how the commission can use them, during a meeting Thursday.
Matt Frische and Cole Fosbrink from Reedy Financial Group attended the meeting to help satisfy the final reporting requirement for 2025 by giving a TIF impact presentation. This presentation helped not just the Redevelopment Commission to understand the impacts TIFs have on the community, but also the other boards and commissions that were in attendance.
Frische stated this was the final requirement for the commission for the year, and included financial data and budgets, long-term plans for TIF dollars and a discussion on the TIF impact.
“We have two different areas when we talk about TIFs. We have our economic development area, and our tax allocation area, or TIF area,” said Frische. “They can be the same, they can be different. The EDA is essentially the area where we plan to use TIF dollars to benefit. The TIF allocation Area is the specific parcels that make up the TIF district that generate the TIF revenue.”
“TIF is a tool that allows them to capture the new assessed value from the time of establishment,” Frische stated.
According to Frische, the base assessed value will continue to go to overlapping units for the entirety of the TIF’s life. Revenue comes in with new development and increases in the assessed value beyond just natural trends or growth.
“Current TIF statute states that we created a TIF district, that clock does not start until we incurred debt payable by those TIF revenues,” Frische said. “After that TIF expires … all that assessed value goes into the base (assessed value).”
Within the presentation, there were expirations and creation years for the allocated areas within Kosciusko County. It was stated the exact date of TIF expiration and final pay year is subject to legal interpretation, to which Frische reminded the commission he is not an attorney.
“The Southshore and the Etna Green TIF,” asked Commission President Doug Hanes, “there’s no bond associated with either, and I don’t believe there’s been any assessed value. Is the expiration date of the maturity on those actually still being determined?”
“Yes, they are TBD,” said Frische.
There was also a financial position as of Nov. 18 of all the allocations, along with their balances, revenues and projected fall settlements. Current and future projects in the county were also projected.
“The way taxes in Indiana works plays a large part in the numbers we’re about to show you,” said Frische. “In Indiana, we’re a levy state. What that means is every overlapping tax unit has a maximum levy. They can grow that maximum levy by a set percentage. From last year to this year, it is 4%, and it does not matter what our assessed value does, we can still only grow that max levy by 4%.”
Inside the TIF impact chart, Frische was able to show how each overlapping unit had a circuit breaker impact, rate-driven funds and percent of total impact, along with the budget, and impact as a percentage of the 2025 budget. What this showed the commission was how much of a percentage the overlapping units pay for their area of impact.
Only $240,015 would be shared across all overlapping units if the TIF areas no longer existed. This is compared with the TIF revenue collected being $1,524,288, giving a TIF margin of about $0.84. For every dollar of revenue, $0.84 would not be received if that assessed value was not in the TIF allocation area. Frische mentioned this was an estimate.
Hanes mentioned he spoke with a school superintendent about a TIF being created because it would create less revenue to the schools. However, Hanes did state it illustrates how this would help bring back money to the county, and to the school all together. “This would help the school, as far as they don’t have to pay for upkeep on roads or other construction,” stated Hanes.
“Schools were given that message and they believed it,” stated Frische. “You see how much more impactful that AV has been within the TIF based on current Indiana structure.”
Hanes asked if Frische could elaborate on how TIFs can be used for education, first responders and other areas in the community. Frische stated up to 15% can be used for workforce development, along with helping kids within the community gain skills to help within the work force.
“All of our existing TIFs have an identical economical development map, can they be amended at any time?” asked Hanes, to which Frische stated they could. He also explained that amending the TIF district would be a lot like how they create one.
The second presentation focused on questions that the commission had asked commission attorney Adam Turner in the last meeting, to which he passed on to Reedy Financial Group.
When asked if economic development areas expire, Frische answered, “To my knowledge, economic development areas don’t expire. That’s why when TIFs expire, but the economic development area is still there, we look at creating a new TIF.”
“We cannot extend the life of a TIF after debt has incurred," said Frische. "What we can do is expand the allocation area as an expansion area with new partials. You can recreate a TIF district where an old TIF district had expired. The only caveat being once the TIF expires, whatever incremental AV goes into the base AV, making so we’re essentially starting over again.”
Frische also gave background on the three different periods of TIF districts over the last 30 years, and how each era had a different lifespan. For example, any TIF made before 1995 is considered to be a legacy TIF, while TIFs made in 2008 and after only have a 25-year life span.
County Auditor Alyssa Schmucker and Kosciusko County Council President Tony Ciriello were able to help answer the question of how much autonomy the commission has. They explained that any claims they have must come before the council, and from there, they could assume that it had been approved by the commissioners.
Frische did state counties and municipalities can have stricter regulations than the state statute.
Highway Department Update
County Highway Superintendent Steve Moriarty gave an update on the three TIFs they were appropriated for. For the first TIF, being CR 700W, south of Ind. 5, which goes past Burket Education Center, they were able to finish paving and stripping. They were able to work with Phend and Brown to accomplish this project.
The second is the Maple Leaf Farm TIF, which is Mock Road. They were able to accomplish and finish this project with their own group.
The third is the Old U.S. 30 TIF, which will help Slate Auto and the City-County Athletic Complex with their traffic flow.
“People think there are four lanes, instead of them being turn lanes, but that is another issue,” stated Moriarty. He stated how glad and proud he was that his group was able to get it done in a timely manner, and that they received the allocation to be able to help the community.
“Is there anything that needs to be done for the correction of the second lane?” asked Hanes.
“Just some signage from the Highway Department,” responded Moriarty.
Schmucker asked since the projects were complete, does that mean the invoices were sent, to which Morarity responded that they will have the receipts sent in before the end of the year.
