ESLC hosts Cambridge TIF Forum

Eastern Shore Land Conservancy recently hosted an educational forum on Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for officials and candidates for elected office in Cambridge and Dorchester County. The forum sought to equip community leaders with the knowledge to make informed decisions regarding TIF for potential redevelopment projects.  The mechanism is being considered to help finance the Cambridge Harbor project at the site of the city’s former hospital.

TIF is a public financing method that helps fund infrastructure and community-improvement projects. It allows local jurisdictions to invest in redevelopment by using anticipated future increase in property tax revenues resulting from those improvements.  TIFs have been used in more than 40 states, including multiple projects across Maryland.

Experts in Tax Increment Financing John Stalfort of Miles & Stockbridge and Keenan Rice of MuniCap joined to lead an informative conversation on how TIF works, from the process for identifying a project, to the various detailed questions that must be addressed at a local level for implementation, as well as visual stories from other successful TIF projects in Maryland.  “What we see with local governments everywhere is that there is a need for redevelopment to meet public needs,” said Rice. “The problem is every local government has budget constraints. They are paying for local schools, they are providing police protection, recreation. They have a lot of other needs and they typically don’t have the money to invest in redevelopment. That’s what makes TIF so valuable.”

“TIFs represent a proven path forward for communities looking for redevelopment opportunities, while answering the age-old question about who pays for necessary infrastructure improvements. Through innovative tools like TIF, redevelopment that might otherwise be impossible can move ahead in a proven, and fiscally predictable way,” said ESLC President, Steve Kline.

Attendees posed thoughtful questions about best practices and potential risks throughout the course of the presentation.  With elections for Cambridge leadership scheduled in October and a slew of new appointments for key government positions within Cambridge, the event attempted to elevate the collective understanding of this key redevelopment tool that local decision makers will likely consider for the Cambridge Harbor project in the coming months. Cambridge Mayor Stephen Rideout applauded the event saying, “”I felt that the training was very helpful and the presenters were very knowledgeable and made the evening fun and productive.” Board Member of Cambridge Association of Neighborhoods, Judd Vickers, agreed, stating, “I learned a great deal related to tax incremental financing, and how it might be utilized in our community.  Importantly, much public input and support will be required to implement any successful TIF in our community.”