Commission moves to submit $40 million TIF amendment after public hearing; bond counsel says bonds not yet sold

Berkeley County commissioners voted to submit an amendment to a tax-increment financing (TIF) district application that would raise the district ceiling to $40 million and expand the boundary, prompting public questions about transparency and what projects will be financed. The commission also adopted a reimbursement resolution required to preserve the county’s ability to reimburse earlier expenses from future bond proceeds. Resident Matthew Cole spoke at the public hearing to oppose the amendment, saying he was concerned about “the general lack of detailed public information available on the projects that are going to be included in this and the means by which it's gonna be financed.” He noted the public packet had not been available until July 9, although the notice published June 26, and said the proposed ceiling represents a large increase over earlier approvals. Jennifer Smith, executive director of the Berkeley County Development Authority, said the development authority provided information to the county clerk and that all projects financed by the TIF “will be approved by the county commission,” and that the application intentionally lists eligible infrastructure types (water, sewer, right-of-way, acquisition) in broad terms. Bond counsel John Stump of Steptoe & Johnson told commissioners the amendment is an earlier step in the TIF approval process: the West Virginia Development Office must approve the amendment, the commission would enact an order, and only after that would project-level approvals and a separate public hearing occur before any bonds are issued. Stump said, “The ability to issue the bonds will ultimately be determined by the market. The market will look at the increase in assessed values and determine whether or not that can be covered.” He added there is no pledge of the county’s general revenues; the TIF bonds would rely on growth in assessed value inside the district. Commissioners then voted to adopt the TIF application and the reimbursement resolution, moving the amendment to the state review stage. Commission and staff described the $40 million figure as a ceiling that allows flexibility for several anticipated projects — county staff cited road improvements and water-line reimbursements related to developments in the district and a potential public-safety building — and said any specific financing initiative would return to the commission for another public hearing and approval before bonds could be sold.