Council discusses Tax Allocation District and authorizes city attorney to draft ordinance changes

City Manager Russell Thompson used the Jan. 20 meeting to outline how a Tax Allocation District (TAD) would work for Thomaston and the steps required to put the question before voters.

Thompson explained that council would need to petition the General Assembly to allow a referendum asking voters whether to empower the city with redevelopment powers for a TAD. He described a TAD as capping taxable values at current assessments so that incremental tax revenue generated inside the district can be placed into a special fund for infrastructure and redevelopment incentives.

Thompson warned of complications with the Floating Local Option Sales Tax (FLOST), noting that the countywide sales tax increased to 9% on Jan. 1, 2026. He said that if sales-tax-derived revenue increases reduce property-tax collections, the city may need to partner with other taxing authorities to secure revenue into a TAD and that full property tax rollback benefits may not be realized until tax year 2028 unless the General Assembly changes FLOST rules.

Following the TAD discussion, Thompson proposed ordinance changes to allow the city manager to appoint a staff member as nonvoting chair of city boards and subcommittees to run meetings and provide staff input; the council authorized the city attorney to draft the ordinance language (mover: Troy Chaney; seconder: Jerry Adams). The meeting minutes record no vote to place a TAD referendum on the ballot; Thompson characterized the remarks as next steps and asked for council feedback.