Council advances plan for Tax Increment District 18 to fund roads, roundabout and NextGen housing incentives

The West Bend Common Council on Aug. 4 approved creation of Tax Increment District No. 18 and a project plan to capture new property-tax revenue from proposed residential and industrial development along Roscoe Road between River and Main Street. The plan identifies roughly $31.4 million in project costs including reconstruction of Roscoe Road, a roundabout at Roscoe and River, a small lift station and development incentives, and anticipates up to 315 owner-occupied housing units and roughly $180 million in new taxable value over the TID’s life.

The TID is designed as a mixed-use district with a maximum 20-year life. Phil Costin of Ehlers, the city’s municipal advisor, told the council the plan assumes a 20-year financing schedule and outlined parameters for borrowing and the limits the council set tonight to allow a parameter sale for general obligation promissory notes to pay for the public costs. Costin said the city will initially finance up to $20 million of the fire station financing separately and that the TID borrowing is intended to finance the Roscoe/River projects and developer incentives described in the plan.

Why it matters: the TID will let the city direct new property…