The Paducah City Commission and McCracken County Fiscal Court are moving forward with the Tax Increment Financing- or ‘TIF’- project.
The project is an economic development tool that allows local governments to capture future increases in property tax and other taxes generated by new development within a specific area. Money from the TIF project would go back into infrastructure needs for the designated zone.
The City Commission and Fiscal Court held a joint public hearing Tuesday night after a presentation about the project. The TIF zone consists of 315 acres located along the downtown riverfront and along the city’s main corridor on Broadway.
Judge/Executive Craig Clymer said the public should know there are no tax increases associated with the program. “Maybe the second most important thing to know is that this is money that if we didn’t capture it, it goes to Frankfort. We’re allowed with this TIF program to capture money and keep it for our local development,” he said.
Mayor Brandi Harless said TIF has been on the city’s radar for more than a decade and “it was time to make a decision on it.”
The city commission and fiscal court will vote to officially move forward with the project at their next regularly scheduled meetings.
See the project’s full proposal here: