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ELKINS -- Elkins City Council will vote on a proposed ordinance to approve and create a tax increment financing, or TIF, district in the city on its second and final reading.
Council approved the motion on its first reading. The second reading will be Thursday, May 18.
Before the first reading, Josh Jarrell, an attorney with the law firm of Spillman Thomas & Battle, spoke before council. The firm has seven offices located in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina.
"I've been working with the city for several months to advance a project to create a TIF district," Jarrell said.
The city held a public hearing on the TIF district plan in January, after which the law firm was authorized to create an submit an application for the city of Elkins to the West Virginia Department of Economic Development.
To fund several costly redevelopment projects, the City of Elkins has a plan to issue up to $25 million in tax increment revenue bonds.The TIF district application was approved by the state in April.
"In order to create the TIF district, we have to have an ordinance adopted by the city council," Jarrell said.
"What we're doing is three things. We're going to authorize the creation of the taxing district and define the boundaries, so we'll know exactly what's inside of the district and subject to it.
"The council is approving the plan that's described in the TIF application, and that project plan is primarily public improvements, capital improvements, that are outlined in the application," Jarrell added.
"And finally, it creates the TIF fund. So, it causes the creation of a special fund into which will be deposited the positive tax increment that would become available to the city to be used to finance improvements pursuant to that project."
Jarrell then said he would be happy to answer any questions council members had about the project, but no questions were asked of him.
The motion to approve and create the TIF district was then voted on, with all council members present voting in favor of the motion. Council member Judy Guye was not at the meeting.
The TIF district plan has been controversial, with county officials publicly opposing it.
Randolph County Commissioners David Kesling and Cris Siler told The Inter-Mountain they were stunned to learn that the TIF process, if enacted, would result in some future tax money being rerouted from the county to pay for the city's renovation projects -- and that this would continue for the next 30 years.
In February, the Randolph County Commission announced that it would ask the Department of Economic Development to decline the city's TIF application.
The Commission sent the opposition letter to the Department of Economic Development early in February.