Map provided by Bill Hawkins
The planned TIF District in Suffield is almost congruent with the Town Center Village Zoning District.
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is a financing tool that provides funds to construct public infrastructure, promote development and redevelopment opportunities, and expand future tax bases within a municipality. TIF uses anticipated future increases in property taxes to help finance projects within a tax increment financing district. TIF is not a new tax but rather a mechanism to capture future tax revenues generated in an area to be reinvested within that area.
Incremental property tax revenues of the Tax Increment District can be used to repay debt service on tax increment financing bonds or collected and segregated by the municipality and used to fund future projects within Tax Increment District on a pay-as-you-go basis. TIF can also be used to provide tax rebates to developers via a credit enhancement agreement (CEA) to encourage new investment. Essentially, TIF is another tool that can be utilized to boost economic development.
Through the efforts of the Connecticut Main Street Center, the Connecticut Chapter of the American Planning Association, the Connecticut Economic Development Association, and Pullman & Comley, LLC, Public Act No. 15-57 was adopted by the legislature in 2015 enhancing municipal use of tax increment financing. Under the legislation, creating Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts is now a municipal option. Previously, TIFs required State approval.
The Town of Suffield is currently pursuing a Town Center TIF District to encourage new investment within the area. In 2004, the Town Center Village District was established to encourage a dynamic, pedestrian-friendly and attractive business district. Since its creation, we have had some successes in enhancing and promoting the Town Center including: streetscape improvements; redevelopment of a service station site into an attractive two-story brick office building; construction of the Bright Horizons daycare center; and construction of a 20,000 s.f. office building. However, there are more opportunities for new development and redevelopment of sites in the Town Center to bolster business activity. For instance, we are working to attract a mixed-use development to the former 24-acre lumberyard on Ffyler Place and TIF revenues can assist in this important redevelopment effort.
A Town Center TIF District Master Plan has been prepared that describes the District boundaries and sets forth proposed uses of the tax increment funds. The Plan can be found on the Town’s website – www.suffieldct.gov. The Town has secured an advisory opinion from the Planning and Zoning Commission that the proposed District is in keeping with the Town’s Plan of Conservation and Development. An orientation meeting was held for property owners in the proposed District to provide information on how a TIF District operates. A public hearing was also held to gain feedback from interested residents. The Board of Selectmen has recommended the adoption of the Town Center Tax Increment Financing District and the Town Center Tax Increment Financing District Master Plan to Town Meeting. We anticipate the Town Center TIF District will be an agenda item at the next Town Meeting whenever that is scheduled.