Stanley: Tax increment financing use should be watched closely

Here’s brief refresher: An urban renewal area, or URA, can be declared if an area meets conditions that indicate some sort of blight. That designation then allows for tax increment financing to be used to “prime the pump” for development.

The difference between the property tax collected before redevelopment and taxes expected after development is the tax increment. This tax increment can be used to reimburse a developer for a project’s costs, subsidize upfront financing costs and, in some cases, to make public improvements.

Unfortunately, the use of TIF means that millions of tax dollars are diverted from schools, libraries, the county and other entities that rely on property tax to provide services. As fellow panelist Larimer County Commissioner Steve Johnson pointed out, tax revenue diverted in Fort Collins totaled in the millions of dollars last year.