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Resident tells Larimer commissioners TIF diversions threaten school funding
Summary
A resident at the March 10 meeting alleged tax-increment financing (TIF) diversions are forcing large state and local school backfills, called for county leadership to address legal infirmities, and said local taxpayers are losing out; commissioners noted work on guardrails and ongoing state-level efforts.
A resident, appearing as Eric Sland, told the Larimer County Board of County Commissioners that the state is facing a budget shortfall while roughly $120 million is being used this year to backfill school districts because of tax-increment financing (TIF) diversions.
"This year alone, we'll spend $120 million backfilling school districts for money diverted to tax increment financing," Sland said, arguing that many TIF mechanisms have legal infirmities and that one school district still owes property owners about $35 million.
Why it matters: Sland framed the issue as a constitutional and fiscal problem that reduces resources available to schools and local taxpayers. He urged the board to exercise leadership and address what he called corruption and mismanagement tied to urban renewal authorities.
Commissioner Kristen Stevens responded that the board has been working on urban renewal reforms and that previous legislation had progressed through the House and Senate only to be vetoed by the governor. "I do think that there's some reforms that need to happen around urban renewal authority," Stevens said, and said the county will continue pressing for guardrails and transparency.
What’s next: Commissioners said they will keep pursuing reforms at the state level and continue to review urban renewal authority uses; no formal county action was initiated at the March 10 meeting.
