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Council hears fast‑track plan to create Innovation tax allocation district before year‑end
Summary
Outside counsel Charles Johnson and consultant KB Advisory Group told council a tax allocation district (TAD) tied to redevelopment near the former Owens‑Illinois site could be created by Dec. 31 if the council adopts a redevelopment plan and holds required public hearings; the TAD would capture incremental property‑tax growth for local projects.
Attorney Charles Johnson and redevelopment consultant KB Advisory Group briefed the City Council on launching an “Innovation” tax allocation district (TAD) to support redevelopment around the former Owens‑Illinois site and nearby industrial corridors.
Johnson said a TAD allows a city to lock in a current property‑tax base and then use the subsequent increment (growth in property‑tax revenues over the base) to finance infrastructure or incentivize development within a designated district. He said state law limits total TADs in a jurisdiction and noted East Point previously terminated the Camp Creek TAD in 2023 to preserve the legal capacity to create a new district.
KB Advisory Group principal Jeff Koski told council the city could secure a TAD effective Dec. 31 — which would make 2026 tax increments eligible to flow into the new TAD fund — if the council adopts a redevelopment plan and completes required public hearings and notifications before year‑end. Koski said the firm would prepare the redevelopment plan, maps and public‑notice materials and help the city meet the statutory process, but warned the schedule would be “churn‑and‑burn” and require close collaboration.
Koski and Johnson emphasized key legal mechanics: the TAD locks in the base year (2025 values under the proposal); only incremental growth over that base would be captured for TAD use; participating jurisdictions (city, county, and school board) must pass concurrent resolutions to include their millage in the TAD increment if they choose to; and funds must be spent inside the district according to the redevelopment plan. On governance, consultants said council could be named the redevelopment agent or the city could delegate authority to a development authority; several council members said they preferred council keep oversight.
Council members asked about boundaries, inclusion of residential parcels, timing and whether the Innovation name and map were final. Koski said the “blobby” conceptual map discussed at prior meetings is an initial draft and that staff and the consultant would prepare GIS shape files and refined parcel lists for review; he warned that including substantial residential acreage would make it harder to secure school board buy‑in. The consultant outlined a timeline that would include public hearings and a council vote on the redevelopment plan before Dec. 31 to lock the base.
Council directed the consultant and staff to return with a more detailed boundary proposal, draft redevelopment plan language, and GIS parcel data at the Nov. 10 work session and to plan a public hearing in December if council wishes to proceed.
