Last week the Greene County Supervisors hired Ahlers and Cooney law firm as the first initial step into possibly establishing Tax Increment Financing (TIF).

The Supervisors voted four to one in favor of hiring Ahlers and Cooney. The lone “no” vote was Supervisor Tom Contner. He said he felt more comfortable with the other law firm that the Supervisors had considered, Dorsey and Whitney. Supervisor Chair John Muir explains why the other Supervisors voted to hire Ahlers and Cooney.

“Some of the advice that came from Ahlers and Cooney was conservative. Which the backgrounds of us on the Board and just dealing with taxpayer money, we’re more comfortable with a conservative view.”

Ahlers and Cooney will be paid an hourly rate to create a system to establish an urban renewal area, which precedes creating TIF. Muir explains that their decision to hire the law firm isn’t to establish TIF, but it may lead to that eventually.

“It’s a matter of getting, I think, our ducks in a row for where you may want to go. This is the first step we needed to take, we felt, before we made a decision, because we wanted their input into some of their views on how we should proceed from the very start. So we had to engage somebody to help us with that.”

As for the state legislature, there have been previous discussions that state government will change how funds for TIF are used, but State Senator Jerry Behn feels that won’t happen this year.

“We’ve seen a lot of communities that have utilized that tool very well and it’s done a good job. We’ve seen just a couple instances where it’s either extended too long or used in areas that it shouldn’t have been used. There have been some talk about some changes, but I don’t see any big changes in TIF this year.”

The Supervisors will decide at a future meeting whether or not to go ahead with establishing TIF.