Ashley Epling asked the Williams County Board of Commissioners on Thursday to authorize research into retaining legal counsel to draft and standardize tax-increment financing (TIF) district documents for multiple communities in the county. "I have proposed, I could do some research and find legal counsel that could come into the communities and help them write the legislation and the resolutions for their TIF districts," Epling said. "And then based on what that cost was, the commissioners could support that cost for all the communities so we could use the same counsel as someone that specializes in making, TIF districts."The proposal grew from a meeting Epling said she hosted with local officials and developers, in which she said infrastructure cost and developer risk were the main barriers to affordable, workforce housing. "Infrastructure is always the issue because it's so expensive to put the infrastructure in, which is also why developers don't come," she said, adding that a consolidated approach might reduce per-community legal costs and encourage action."If we threw it all together and did it for each every community as 1 under the commissioners, can we get a better rate?" Epling asked. She recommended soliciting a quote so the county and its municipalities could decide whether to proceed and whether individual towns could opt out.Speakers at the meeting emphasized coordination with local officials who would manage any TIF once created. Epling said county staff including Vicky and Stevie attended the informational meeting and are supportive but want to be involved because they would manage the program if established. Commissioners asked for a cost estimate and for outreach to peer counties and attorneys who have worked on TIFs. Epling said she would gather quotes and reach out to other commissioners to see which attorneys they use.The presentation did not propose a particular dollar commitment; commissioners discussed bringing a quote back for consideration during budget work. No formal motion or vote to fund legal counsel was recorded during the discussion.