City staff and several speakers discussed the structure and allowable uses of the city's Tax Increment Financing (TIF) plan and whether available funds can be redirected to projects such as library technology upgrades, sidewalk repairs and capital equipment.

Sarah Lehi, who identified herself as library staff, asked if surplus TIF funds could support the library’s remote workspace and tech lab. Staff replied that the current TIF plan is specific about allowable uses and that under the existing design the library project would likely not qualify without editing the plan or establishing a downtown TIF district with an explicit match mechanism. “I don't think our current one does it, but we could also include that, like, in an investment in the Downtown TIF Portage District,” the staff member said.

Staff and council members discussed that TIF accounts are capital funds intended to support specific projects, that funds are generally planned forward rather than treated as an annual surplus, and that using TIF monies to reduce general property tax obligations is restricted under the current plan. Staff also noted a recent debt-service drop that is creating roughly $400,000 in available TIF balances and said a consultant will be asked to analyze priorities and possible district redesigns.

Public commenters and at least one speaker urged eliminating the TIF and moving proceeds to the general fund; staff and other council members replied that eliminating TIF districts would affect revenue sharing and the city’s ability to finance targeted capital projects and that the consultant will assess accounting and policy implications. The staff member said the TIF plan already allows for some grant match uses and that the planned TIF consultant would provide public and council conversations about reallocation options and potential new TIF districts tied to economic development priorities.

Staff described the next steps: engage a consultant (already approved in a prior cycle for grants consolidation), conduct a public process to update TIF priorities, and provide analyses showing the consequences of reassigning or eliminating TIF districts for general fund revenues and revenue-sharing impacts.