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Council adopts Exit 10 TIF plan for $47 million development expected to create 100–200 jobs
Summary
Picayune approved the Exit 10 tax‑increment financing (TIF) plan, authorizing up to $50 million in bonds for infrastructure support for a proposed $47 million private project that consultants said could add 100–200 jobs and raise annual property taxes by an estimated $987,000.
Picayune’s City Council voted to adopt the Exit 10 tax‑increment financing plan after a public hearing in which consultants outlined how TIF programs reimburse developers for public infrastructure using only increased tax revenues generated by the new development.
Lawrence Lions of Urban Development, the consultant on the plan, told the council that TIFs “are not pledging the good faith and credit of the city towards a tiff debt instrument,” emphasizing that only the incremental taxes produced by a completed project are available for reimbursement. He described one applicant’s proposal at Exit 10 as a roughly $47 million investment projected to produce 100–200 permanent jobs and about $20 million in new annual sales.
Lions provided an estimated fiscal picture for the project if it proceeds as described: annual property tax increases of about $987,000 in total (including approximately $372,000 for the school district), a city share estimated at $284,000, and a county share around $330,000. He also said sales‑tax rebates from the project were estimated to generate about $220,000 annually for the city under proposed scenarios.
Troy Johnston, bond counsel with Butler Snow, and Lions walked the council through the mechanism by which developers build public infrastructure at their risk and later receive reimbursement through bonds supported by incremental taxes and, in some cases, sales‑tax rebates. Lions explained that published plans establish global authorizations (the council set an Exit 10 authorization of up to $50 million) and that final reimbursement amounts and bond issuance depend on subsequent security reimbursement agreements, market appetite for bonds, and verification of eligible expenses.
Councilmember votes were recorded by voice and the resolution adopting the Exit 10 TIF plan passed without opposition. Councilwoman Stevens moved the adoption and Councilman Hickman seconded; the item follows a public hearing during which consultants said the plans had been on file with the clerk and the city had published the required notice.
The council was told by consultants that typical TIF authorizations have a 25‑year shelf life and that individual bonds typically carry shorter terms (often 10–15 years), and that the city retains control over whether to issue bonds and whether to accelerate payoff or refinance.
