Year Created: 1998
Type: Created Pre-Act 60; Use of Ed. Prop. Tax Grandfathered by Legislature (Act 60)
Split of Increment: Education Fund = 100%/0% and Municipal General Fund = 100%/0%
The TIF District in Newport was created to allow for development of an industrial park. No development could take place without substantial investment in water, sewer, and access improvements to the property. The 47-acre area of undeveloped land was owned by a developer and zoned for commercial and industrial uses. The TIF District was created at a Newport City meeting in March 1997 and was grandfathered in for utilization of the State Education Property Tax by Act 60 (1997).
The City worked with the developer in making the necessary improvements with the goal of encouraging industrial development and creating jobs. The major work involved building a waterline connecting Newport’s reservoir to Derby’s waterline as the elevation of the properties within the industrial park was too high to be serviced by the Newport reservoir.
Since the TIF district was created and the new infrastructure completed, three industrial buildings have been constructed. The park now hosts Revision Military and Harvest Equipment, employing about 200 Vermonters.
The investment of $300,000 in the water line by the TIF District leveraged almost $3 million in private investment in the industrial park properties. The base value of the District started at $48,500 and was $2.954 million in 2015 when all the debt was retired and the life of the District ended, an increase in value of $2.905 million. Before the TIF District, the property sent about $800 a year to the Education Fund. Now the properties send more than $51,000 to the Education fund each year.
Approximate Value of TIF Supported Infrastructure: $300,000
Approximate Value of Private Investment: $3,000,000
Ratio of Public Investment to Private Development: 1:10