Henry County commissioners approve consent to Stockbridge tax-allocation district for downtown "town center" project

The Henry County Board of Commissioners voted to approve an intergovernmental agreement consenting to the City of Stockbridge’s Tax Allocation District (TAD) number 1, a move the city says is necessary to finance a proposed downtown “Town Center” redevelopment.

The consent limits county participation to the Town Center project inside the certified TAD and to county general‑fund and recreation millage increments; it does not include county fire or water special service district millage. The agreement also requires the city to return to the county for approval before committing county increments to any future projects outside the Town Center scope.

Gary Mangione, a consultant with KB Advisory Group who presented the county briefing, said the downtown Town Center is a potential $300 million mixed‑use development and that, if implemented, the project would require an estimated $30 million to $40 million in tax‑increment financing. "Of that 56,000,000, about 26 and a half million would be county increment contributed to the City Of Stockbridge's TAD Special Fund," Mangione told the commission, describing a long‑term financial forecast the presentation said spans roughly 28 years.

Mayor Ben Ford, of the City of Stockbridge, outlined the city’s recent steps downtown — including an amphitheater the city opened in 2021 — and said the TAD is intended to encourage private‑sector redevelopment, new housing and pedestrian connections across the railroad corridor. "Stockbridge is where community connects," Ford said in his remarks.

City and county presenters told commissioners the TAD was created by the city, certified by the state commissioner of revenue in 2022 and that the first county payment would be due in early 2026 (taxes billed later in 2025), meaning no immediate impact on the county’s current fiscal year. Mangione said initial impacts to the county’s budget would likely be small in the next fiscal year — he estimated the county’s first‑year increment could be less than $20,000 — but the county’s contributions would grow if the development proceeds and values in the district increase.

County staff emphasized protections written into the intergovernmental agreement: the county’s consent applies only to the Town Center project shown in the city’s plan; the city must return for county consent before using county increment on additional projects within the district; the agreement establishes reporting requirements and a deadline (the presentation cited construction start by the end of 2028) after which the county could withdraw consent if the project has not advanced.

Commissioners discussed concerns raised earlier about special service districts (fire and water) and eminent domain. County staff and the city clarified that the agreement excludes fire and water district millage from the county increment and that the city’s redevelopment plan and intergovernmental agreement affirm the city does not intend to use eminent domain for the project.

After the presentation and questions, Vice Chair Annie Robinson moved to approve the intergovernmental agreement and Commissioner Kevin Lewis seconded. The board approved the consent motion without recorded opposition.

If the Town Center project proceeds, county officials said they expect to retain most county tax revenue streams while participating in long‑term increment sharing; the presentation projected the county would retain water and fire SSD revenues and that, under a successful redevelopment scenario, the county could collect more in total revenues (including sales tax gains) than if the district remained unchanged.

The city indicated it will next seek the school board’s consent. The county required the written intergovernmental agreement and reporting measures to be part of that consent before finalizing county participation.