Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall, left, and Vice President Chuck Bird are pictured at Milford Redevelopment Commission’s Monday, May 12 meeting. The commission held its annual meeting for taxing entities and accepted an excess value statement. The commission found no excess value and will be keeping TIF funds for a new water tower. Photo by Lilli Dwyer.

By Lilli Dwyer
InkFreeNews

MILFORD — Milford Redevelopment Commission found no excess value to pass back to impacted taxing entities at its meeting Monday, May 12.

First, the commission held its annual meeting with financial advisor Jim Higgins of LWG CPAs & Advisors, Indianapolis. Higgins explained the annual meeting is an opportunity for impacted taxing entities to voice any questions or concerns on how the commission uses tax increment funds. Entities include the town of Milford, Van Buren Township, Wawasee Community Schools, Milford Public Library and Kosciusko County Solid Waste Management District. No representatives of impacted taxing entities were present at the meeting.

Higgins also outlined a memo he had sent as a “measuring stick” for tax increment funds, or TIF districts. For every $1 million in incremental assessed value the commission has in TIF, $17,671 would be generated. Without the assessed value being in a TIF district, the tax rate for impacted entities would go down 9/10 of a cent. The town and county would collect about $1,600 in additional funds.

Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall explained, “TIF captures $17,000 per million. If it wasn’t TIF, it’d go into our base for the whole town. … That’s why TIFs exists basically, it’d be lost revenue, but that’s also why the funds have to be used to benefit the TIF area.”

In the regular meeting, the commission accepted an excess value determination, which states there is no excess value to be passed back to taxing entities this year.

“You can have any excess value you can pass back if you don’t have a need for it. If the redevelopment commission didn’t have a need for any money, there’d be no sense to collect it, but we’re saving money for the big project,” Gall said.

The commission will be saving TIF monies to build an additional water tower somewhere in the TIF 2 district. This, Gall said, will improve water pressure for residents.

The next Milford Redevelopment Commission Meeting will be 10 a.m. Monday, June 9 in the Milford Community Building.