Elkhart redevelopment commission accepts Baker Tilly TIF report, finds no excess assessed value for 2027 and hires Baker Tilly

The Elkhart Redevelopment Commission on June 9 received Baker Tilly's annual tax increment financing (TIF) presentation and voted to adopt a resolution finding there is no excess assessed value for calendar year 2027.

Mike Huber, Elkhart's development services director, opened the discussion and said the statutory review determines whether TIF revenues exceed the needs of redevelopment projects and should be passed through to overlapping taxing districts. "It's that time of year where we have the statutory obligation to assess and determine the TIF revenues and TIF expenditures and determine if there are any excess TIF revenues to be passed along to overlapping taxing districts," Huber said.

Greg Balsano of Baker Tilly walked commissioners through revenue forecasts, debt obligations and illustrative budgets across multiple allocation areas. He told the commission the Aeroplex Business Park area collected just under $650,000 in 2025 and is estimated at roughly $751,880 in 2026; the Casopoulos corridor brought in about $4.7 million in 2025 with an anticipated $5.4 million in 2026. Balsano cautioned the forecasts take into account recent statutory changes: "We take into account the new deductions, credits, and different things like that that were enforced by Senate Enrolled Act 1 in 2025," he said.

Balsano reviewed longer-term obligations, pointing to a recent $10 million residential infrastructure loan tied to South Main Street reconstruction (maturing Feb. 1, 2037) and a variety of developer-purchased TIF obligations in downtown and River District areas where 100% or a large percentage of incremental TIF will be pledged to debt service while bonds are outstanding. He also described the 500 Main project loan, which carries a minimum taxpayer payment of $268,670 and is structured so the borrower covers shortfalls if revenues are lower than projected.

After questions, the commission moved to adopt the formal pass-through determination for 2027, finding no excess assessed value to remit to overlapping taxing districts, and directed staff to notify the auditor and affected units as required by statute. The commission also voted to approve the Baker Tilly engagement for the services described in the agreement and to authorize execution of the engagement and fee arrangements.

The votes were taken by voice; staff noted the pass-through determination will feed into the annual spending-plan process, with draft spending plans due later this year. The commission's action does not change individual project budgets at this meeting; it formalizes the statutory finding and secures Baker Tilly's engagement for the required reporting and calculations.

Next steps: staff will notify overlapping taxing units per statutory requirements and prepare the 2027 spending-plan materials for the commission's later review and adoption.