outside the box and came up with some good ideas . In the long run it ’ s going to save the City a lot of money .”
Before construction of the new water tower , two major commercial enterprises moved into the northern part of Medford , increasing interest in further development . Harris said potential developers ’ interest quickly dimmed when they learned they would have to provide their own means of increasing water pressure .
“ We had to tell them they ’ d have to install their own booster pumps , and they ’ d have to be in operation 24-7 ,” Harris said . “ That would be a big expense , and it stood in the way of development .”
Tax Incremental Financing ’ s role
First , Tax Incremental Financing ( TIF ) was available to reduce the financial impact of the project on Medford taxpayers .
The City has made good use of TIF ( see accompanying sidebar on Page 5 ) to help fund needed community improvements .
Wisconsin law limits cities to no more than 12 % of their taxable value to be held in Tax Incremental Districts ( TIDs ). Medford had recently closed a TID , lowering its involvement in the program to about 8 % of its capacity . The closed TID provided an influx of funds to begin the water tower project , in tandem also opening the door for the City to reassign the 4 % balance of their TID allotment to a new area of development .
Mike Stoffel , the Ayres civil engineer in charge of the water tower project , said several factors came together in 2019 and 2020 to help the City create a long-term solution to the water pressure concerns .
Medford ’ s 13 th TID included property that could accommodate the water tower , but timing was critical . The City had to include the project in TID 13 and secure a $ 2.5 million loan to pay for the work before the district went into the payoff portion of its life cycle – when projects end and repayment begins . www . AyresAssociates . com 3