City of Cleburne staff and the city's TIRZ consultants briefed the Johnson County Commissioners Court in a workshop on Oct. 14 about a proposed expansion and extension of Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 1 (TIRZ 1A).

Natalie Ayala of Pettit Ayala, the city's TIRZ consultant, explained that the original TIRZ created in 2001 covered just under 1,200 acres and was extended in 2021 to terminate in 2026. The proposed expansion would add roughly 1,700 acres in total (about 900 acres in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction and about 771 acres inside existing city limits) and would create a 30-year term for the newly added area ending Dec. 31, 2055. If enacted by the city this year, the base year for the expanded area would be 2025.

Under the model presented, the city would continue to participate at 100% of the real-property increment (with a staggered reduction in contribution tiers as revenues rise). County participation would be set by a separate interlocal agreement and would apply to property inside the city limits (county funds would not be used for economic-development grants, per statute). Consultants showed a conservative development scenario that projects roughly $996 million in new taxable real property value from proposed industrial, retail, office, self-storage and multifamily uses, producing estimated TIRZ revenues of about $144.9 million over the term; the consultant noted net benefit to taxing entities after TIRZ participation.

Jeremy Hutt, director of public works for Cleburne, and deputy city manager Chris Fuller participated in the presentation. Commissioners asked questions about residential multifamily, possible data centers and how county participation historically has treated multifamily housing (the county has previously exempted residential multifamily from participation in some TIRZs). The city said next steps would include city council action on the ordinance amendment and then returning to the county for consideration of the amended interlocal agreement.

Why it matters: A large TIRZ can concentrate public incentives in targeted areas to spur industrial or infrastructure investment; county participation determines how much of the county's future incremental tax revenue would be committed to TIRZ projects.

What comes next: The city plans to seek a creation-ordinance amendment this fall and the county court will be asked to consider a separate interlocal agreement governing county participation once the city advances its ordinance.