Before we dive into this week’s theme—public engagement in the TIF district process—we wanted to provide a short update. On Monday, April 21, the Rutland City Board of Aldermen approved a modification to the TIF District, as requested by the Vermont Economic Progress Council (VEPC). With that change in place, VEPC has officially approved the district.
The next step in the Rutland City TIF process is to finalize plans for the first phase project (the downtown hotel) and submit those to the Board of Aldermen for their consideration. Hopefully this will occur in May with an application going to VEPC in June for their July board meeting.
Is there a role for the public to play in the establishment of a TIF district?
Yes. Public participation in the development of a TIF district is not only encouraged, it’s required by law. In order for the Rutland City TIF District to be a success, the Rutland City TIF Task Force has relied on open and transparent community engagement, largely by way of public hearings.
Before the City of Rutland could apply for TIF district approval, public hearings were held with the Board of Aldermen. Upon the Board’s approval, public hearings were then held with VEPC. Moving forward, any Phase Filings for specific projects and any “substantial changes” proposed to the district will also require public input. Additional public hearings and formal notices will also be made available before each bond vote, ensuring that residents are informed before heading to the polls.
Public hearings that take place before both the Rutland City Board of Aldermen and VEPC are warned several days in advance and schedules can be found at Tinyurl.com/RutlandBOA or Tinyurl.com/VEPCmeetings.
To support ongoing community engagement, as well as to provide general information and project updates, the Rutland City TIF Task Force also maintains a public Facebook page.
We fully recognize the complexity of the TIF process, which includes multiple safeguards that require accountability from municipalities who have access to this important tool. While this series of articles will not serve as a platform to respond to all public comments, we will do our best to use the feedback we receive to shape the content of future columns.
Your vote matters
Importantly, none of the work done to this point can move forward without the support of the Rutland City voters. Once the first phase project is approved by VEPC, voters will be asked to approve a TIF-funded bond that will fund the infrastructure improvements needed to start the project.
As we shared in the last article, the bond will not result in a new tax, nor will it cause property taxes to rise in order to pay for it. Instead, the bond will be paid for using the property tax revenue generated from the new development.
While several steps remain before asking for voter approval, we anticipate a bond vote to be scheduled for this Fall.
For more information, visit the Rutland 360 website: Rutlandvtbusiness.com/tax-increment-financing.
