Council sets public hearing after two manufacturers request TIF-style development agreements

City staff told the Bloomfield City Council that two local manufacturers have asked the city to consider development agreements tied to tax-increment-style refunds to support planned expansions.

The firms — identified in the presentation as SKP Industries and Wilson Wier/Metal Wholesale — asked the council to consider a refund structure of up to $500,000 over a 10-year period, paid as a percentage of property taxes as in previous agreements. Staff said past agreements resulted in much smaller annual payouts and that final totals depend on future property values and state rates.

The presenter told council members the ask was only a request to begin the process: "they are asking ... for $500,000 over a 10-year period," and stressed that any agreement would follow the city's usual step-by-step review, including legal review and public input. Council members asked how past deals were structured and were told payouts commonly run in the low thousands per year under the percentage-of-tax formula.

After discussion about job projections (one business estimates 15–40 new jobs over 10 years; the other 10–15 over five years) and potential alternatives such as utility upgrades rather than direct tax refunds, the council voted to schedule a public hearing to consider development agreements and to initiate the process for staff and legal review.

Next steps: the council will advertise and hold the public hearing, then consider the written development-agreement terms and any required TIF/funding mechanics. No financial commitment was made at this meeting.