Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tax Increment Financing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Monongalia County officials update public on 10 active TIF districts, explain how they work
Summary
County tax officials explained how tax increment financing (TIF) districts in Monongalia County capture growth in property value to fund development, described operational complexity across 10 districts, and said school boards are largely made whole via state reimbursement.
Monongalia County tax officials gave the Board of Education a detailed briefing May 27 on the county’s 10 tax increment financing (TIF) districts, explaining the mechanics of how TIFs capture growth in assessed value to pay bonds for infrastructure and development.
Tax deputy Kelly Palmer, who said she has been chief tax deputy for 16 years, told the board TIFs do not raise property tax rates and do not reduce school levies or general obligation bond levies. “A lot of times people will call in and say, what is this TIF I’m paying for? … If your taxes are $10, they’re $10. It’s just the way we distribute them,” Palmer said.
Chief Deputy Assessor Patrick Tinney described the assessor’s role: his office sets the assessed base for parcels placed in a proposed TIF and then any increase above that base becomes the increment paid into the TIF. He noted some industrial and utility properties are assessed by the state tax department and those values are incorporated into county calculations.
Officials walked the board through complications that arise when TIF districts overlap municipal boundaries or have multiple base years. Tinney said the University Town Center TIF, for example, includes different base years and more than one taxing entity, which complicates distributions. Palmer added that Monongalia County and the city of Morgantown each have five TIFs, and the county leads the state in the number of districts.
Palmer and other speakers also summarized state-level rules and history: TIFs in West Virginia require legislative approval, the first state TIF was approved in 2004, and state statute allows a 20-year term with a potential petition for an additional 15 years since the 2023 amendment. Palmer said the county’s combined increment across all 10 TIFs for tax year 2024 was an assessed-value increment of $518,246,345.
Board members asked how increment funds are used. Officials said the increment does not go directly to developers; it is used to pay bonds or infrastructure costs the TIF finances. Palmer emphasized that the State Board of Education reimburses local school districts for most TIF-related losses to the school aid formula — about 85% per the briefing — but other local taxing entities do not receive that reimbursement.
Officials acknowledged management burdens: maintaining parcel lists, coordinating with the state tax department to update systems, and resolving questions from property owners who discover their parcels are included in a TIF without their direct notice. Tinney said his office receives many such inquiries and directs property owners to developers or municipal sponsors for the rationale behind parcel inclusion.
Palmer and county staff urged continued legislative and administrative attention to TIF guidance. They said the state tax department’s TIF manual has not been substantially updated since 2003 and that outside consultants are sometimes required to resolve questions.
The board thanked the tax and assessor staff and asked for the presentation slides to be shared for future reference.
