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RDC discusses TIF creation and adopts 2026 TIF spending plan and meeting calendar
Summary
Commission staff outlined the multi-step process for creating TIF districts, citing SB 1’s property-tax changes as motivation; commissioners approved a 2026 meetings calendar and a $2,002,000 TIF annual spending plan.
DeKalb County Redevelopment Commission members spent a portion of the Nov. 12 meeting discussing how the county would establish tax increment financing (TIF) districts and then approved a 2026 calendar and a TIF spending plan.
RDC staff explained that establishing a TIF typically begins with a declaratory resolution from this body, proceeds to the plan commission for a development plan and then requires county-commissioners’ approval; a confirming resolution would then create the TIF. Staff recommended engaging counsel (examples named: Baker Tilly, Frost Brown Todd, Barnes & Thornburg) and producing a tax-impact study before finalizing areas. "Sometimes we're setting up a TIF area because there is a project that is in the works," staff said, and noted that the tax base is backdated to Jan. 1 of the year in which the TIF is declared.
Staff also pointed to recent state action (SB 1) and property-tax changes as additional motivation for counties to consider TIFs to spur development. Commissioners agreed to identify candidate areas and seek planning and commissioners' buy-in before incurring consultant costs.
On calendar and spending actions, the commission approved a modified 2026 meeting calendar (moving the Nov. 11 meeting to Nov. 4, 2026) and adopted the TIF annual spending plan for 2026 totaling $2,002,000. Staff noted the spending plan does not have to match the formal budget and recommended conservative estimates for professional expenses tied to potential TIF work.
