Florence Morning News - December 18, 2006
By Charles Tomlinson
FLORENCE — Florence City Council unanimously approved the creation of a Tax Increment Financing District on Monday to help fund downtown improvements.
The ordinance was up for second and final reading at Monday’s council meeting.
Only one person spoke during a public hearing prior to the vote.
“I want a vibrant core (in downtown
Florence). A lively city,” said
Florence businessman Christopher Gause. “And I approve this (district). And I ask that you do, too.”
The Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, District will freeze tax values at their levels as of this past Jan. 1. As properties are developed and redeveloped, the new tax revenue would go into a fund for public improvements in the downtown area.
In the TIF district, if a property is worth $30,000 as of last Jan. 1, then worth $130,000 in 2007 because of development, the taxes paid on that additional $100,000 would go into the project fund.
The district, which goes into effect Jan. 8, will not affect taxpayers’ bills, city manager
David Williams said.
“There will be no tax increase on anyone because of the TIF District creation. ... The only thing that changes is where this money goes,” Williams said in an interview last week.
The council needs approval from Florence County Council and
Florence
School District 1 to create the district.
The only way either body could disapprove of the district is to opt out and notify city council, Williams said.
On Thursday, the school board approved a motion to endorse the TIF District.
Williams said he has spoken before county council about the district and received positive comments from that council’s members.
The money raised through the district can be used only for public improvements downtown.
Those improvements would include streetscapes, parking lots, underground utilities, entry and exit improvements, and a business incubator.
The district would comprise the areas between
Lucas Street and
Cherokee Road to the north and south as well as Church, McQueen and Kuker streets to the east and west.
The downtown TIF district will be in place for 20 years, after which the difference in taxes collected from the increased assessed values would revert to the city, county and school district.
In other business Monday, city council unanimously approved:
- Second reading of an ordinance to amend the city’s Consolidated Zoning Ordinance to establish installation requirements for manufactured housing.
- Second reading of an ordinance to amend the city’s budget to match the budgeted amounts more closely with actual revenues and expenditures.
- First reading of an ordinance to place responsibility for city athletics programs in the hands of the Parks, Beautification and Leisure Services Commission.
- First reading of an ordinance to designate the
Lakewood subdivision as an existing residential area on the county’s comprehensive land map.
- A request for $10,000 funding for
Florence
County’s 2007 Legislative Day in
Columbia.
- A request for $20,000 to cover seating at American Legion Field so the stadium can host tournaments.
- A request to provide a 25-year lease agreement to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Pee Dee Area for the building and facilities at
Northside
Park