Building Communities with Tax Increment Financing

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TIF captures a property’s appreciated value by using its increased property taxes to finance infrastructure improvements that benefit a designated area, called a Tax Increment Area (TIA). Projects in the TIA must be reviewed by the Washington State Treasurer’s Office to ensure they meet the requirements of TIF legislation. These projects are intending to stimulate new construction that occurs sooner or with higher values that would otherwise be expected to occur if not for the projects within the TIA.

The Port has limited tax and business revenue yet supports a rapidly growing region and substantial capital improvement program. TIF is a key tool to fund needed infrastructure projects, which will enable new development that provides services, jobs, and housing for our community.

No, TIF is not a new tax. Rather, it is a funding tool that redirects annual tax increases to fund an approved list of projects within the TIA. However, using TIF may require additional assessment of property values, which can result in slight increases for some property tax levies and slight decreases for others. The increase in taxes on a property valued at $100,000 is estimated to be less than 54 cents per year.

By capturing and redirecting this annual increase from a property’s appreciated value, TIF can affect the amount of taxes some local public agencies receive. You can view the full list of those impacted in the full draft report (linked on this webpage).

We are reaching out to local agencies and our community to share information, answer questions about TIF, and collaborate to help address some of the revenue impacts to local agencies. If TIF is adopted, the Port will enact a Voluntary Mitigation Plan like the one recently created by the City of Ridgefield for its own TIF program.

No, TIF will not redirect funds from local school tax levies. 

The designated area, or the TIA, is located within the Port district and consists of two subareas. The largest subarea is focused on the I-5 interchanges with NE 179th Street and NE 219th Street. The smaller subarea is focused on the Ridgefield Waterfront.

The Port is prioritizing projects that address high needs and bring economic and community benefits to Ridgfield and Clark County. We have identified a preliminary list of public improvement projects that may be funded by TIF, including:

-  Rebuilding the Ridgefield Waterfront

-  Community enhancement and mitigation 

-  Developing new small business facilities

A full list of the proposed projects can be found in the draft report (linked on this webpage).

The implementation of TIF is expected to generate substantial economic impacts for the local and regional economy. Over the 25-year period of this initiative, construction from the development of TIF-funded projects is expected to create roughly 3,190 jobs and $218.3 million in labor income. These projects will create new commercial and retail spaces and, once completed and operational, are expected to create 1,977 jobs and generate $137.1 million in annual labor income. Additionally, the anticipated development activity for these projects once completed is expected to generate over $46 million in local, state, and federal taxes that can be reinvested into the community.

Yes, they could. The financial model used to forecast fire district tax revenues 25 years into the future assumes only that voters approve future EMS levies every six years. This assumption was included in the financial model at the request of the fire districts impacted by TIF. Those districts also requested an alternate financial model, included in Appendix D, to forecast the increased impacts to the fire districts if those districts successfully pass levy lid lifts to keep their general levy rate between $1.20 and $1.50 per thousand dollars of assessed value. The more funds fire districts raise in a tax levy, the more funds are raised by TIF as a fraction of that total levy and the more funds that can be directed toward economic development projects.

The Port will be hosting two public briefings for anyone interested in learning more and would like their questions about TIF answered.

The first public briefing is on Wednesday, February 28st from 5-7 p.m. at the Port of Ridgefield's offices, located at 101 Mill St Suite 100, Ridgefield, WA. The official briefing will begin at 5:30 p.m., however, this will be an open house-style format and you are welcome to drop by any time. Port staff will be present to discuss and answer all of your TIF-related questions. 

The second public briefing is on Wednesday, April 3rd from 5-7 p.m. at the Port of Ridgefield's offices, located at 101 Mill St Suite 100, Ridgefield, WA. The official briefing will begin at 5:30 p.m., however, this will be an open house-style format and you are welcome to drop by any time. Port staff will be present to discuss and answer all of your TIF-related questions.