Zachary Walker,
City Manager
The City utilizes Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for economic development projects pursuant to the terms of Missouri Statute 99.800 through 99.865 (TIF Act). The purpose of TIF projects is to finance improvement within a geographically defined area called a redevelopment project area, which has been found by the City Council to be either a blighted, conservation, or economic development area. TIF projects allow the City to finance certain redevelopment costs from the revenue generated from (1) real estate taxes, measured by the net increase in assessed valuation resulting from redevelopment and (2) a percent of local sales tax revenues generated by new economic activities in the redevelopment area. These real estate taxes and sales tax revenues are allocated to special allocation funds set up for each TIF project. Under GASB Statement No. 77, these types of allocations are considered a tax abatement. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, the City had 21 active TIF projects and abated $1,321,082 in real estate tax and $7,629,157 in sales tax revenue.