Beloit council approves resolution to create Tax Incremental District 16 along Prairie Avenue

The City Council of the City of Beloit on Sept. 14 approved Resolution 2025-118 to create Tax Incremental District Number 16 along Prairie Avenue, a district staff said covers roughly 305 acres and 113 parcels and is intended to support infrastructure and development incentives along the corridor.

The resolution directs staff to advance the TID project plan to the Joint Review Board for its final consideration and, if approved there, to the state for certification. City staff said the district would use tax increment financing: the existing taxable value as of Jan. 1, 2025 becomes the base value; taxes on any increase above that base (the incremental value) would be captured to pay TID project costs.

City staff member Drew Pennington presented the project plan and introduced Greg Johnson of Ehlers, the public finance adviser who prepared the plan and financial analysis. Staff said the district is intended to pay for infrastructure projects, possible land acquisition, development incentives and administrative costs tied to the Prairie Avenue concept plan.

The project plan in the council packet estimated approximately $1,500,000 in new taxable value in the near term from identified projects and projected roughly $2,000,000 in tax increment revenue over the district’s 27-year maximum life (to 02/19/2053) based on the assumptions in the plan. Staff described the plan as flexible; any specific infrastructure project or developer incentive would still require a separate council approval and, where applicable, a development agreement.

A council member congratulated staff and outside advisers on the plan and said commercial developers they had spoken with were optimistic about the corridor’s prospects. Council members voted to approve the resolution; the matter will next be considered by the Joint Review Board, with a meeting noted in the packet as possible on Oct. 1.

If the Joint Review Board approves and the state certifies the district, the city said the captured increment would be used only for TID-eligible expenditures listed in the project plan and that property taxes on the base value would continue to be collected by the city and other taxing jurisdictions throughout the district’s life.

The resolution passed on a council vote; the project plan and maps are included in the council packet and will remain subject to future council review before any individual project or incentive is authorized.