Assessor’s staff explains micro‑TIF process, says cities typically approve TIFs

Gage County — At the Feb. 4 meeting Miss Milligan described how a "micro‑TIF" process could speed approvals for small projects and clarified the division of responsibilities between cities and county staff.

Miss Milligan said applications can be obtained through county assessor channels and that some forms may be available online. She explained that county staff handle valuation and bookkeeping — establishing project base values and moving to excess as construction proceeds — while cities would typically approve the TIF itself and handle annexation when needed.

Board members and staff discussed that micro‑TIFs are designed to move more quickly than full TIF programs; one participant summarized the intended timing as a shorter turnaround than multi‑reading city processes, and Miss Milligan said the county had not yet used micro‑TIFs locally. Participants referenced a prior TIF project (referred to in the meeting as Husker Barnard) and noted that taxes continued to be collected in that example after sale of the property.

Quote: Miss Milligan said, “Microbe just means that it would go a lot faster so we haven't had we have not had any of those.”