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Fire commissioners urge council to oppose Port of Woodland TIF, warn of long-term impact on emergency services
Summary
At its March 17 meeting, speakers from local fire districts told the Woodland City Council they oppose a proposed Port of Woodland tax-increment financing plan, saying junior taxing districts would lose revenue and that the fire district could see multimillion-dollar shortfalls over 25 years.
Fire commissioners from the region told the Woodland City Council on March 17 they oppose a proposed Port of Woodland tax-increment financing plan, saying it would shift future property-tax growth away from local emergency services.
At the meeting, Dave Towne, identifying himself as an elected commissioner with Clark Kallitz Fire Rescue, said the district’s share under the proposed TIF would be “about $13,000,000 over the next 25 years.” He urged residents and council members to attend a March 24 workshop the fire district is holding to discuss the issue.
Why it matters: Tax-increment financing freezes the taxable base for participating taxing districts while new tax revenue from higher property values is used to pay for infrastructure or development projects inside the TIF area. Commissioners warned that when a TIF area is created, junior taxing districts such as fire protection districts can lose a rising share of revenue even as service demands increase around new development.
Larry Bartel, also identifying himself as a fire commissioner, said the effect shows up in school and fire‐district revenue calculations. “As the value goes up, the schools don’t get more,” Bartel said, adding that operating levies set school tax rates to meet fixed dollar needs and that TIFs can reduce the tax base that produces those levies.
Commissioners at the meeting urged residents to attend upcoming sessions the fire district and the Port of Woodland have scheduled to present details and answer questions. The fire commissioners said they have already spent money on legal review and consultant analysis and plan to publish figures at the district’s March 24 workshop showing projected shares for local taxing districts.
Council members and other speakers also expressed concern about the state review process for TIFs: meeting remarks described the state treasurer’s review as largely administrative, which some speakers characterized as a “rubber stamp.” Those statements reflected opinion offered during public comment; no council action on a TIF was taken at the March 17 meeting.
The council meeting record shows multiple invitations for members of the public to contact port commissioners directly and to attend the fire district’s March 24 workshop at the main station (911 E. 60th Ave.), where the commissioners said they will review their analysis.
Next steps: Fire district representatives said they will publish consultant figures and hold the March 24 workshop; council members indicated they would relay constituent inquiries to port officials and monitor follow-up materials from the fire district.
