Huntsville council adopts TIF 9 to fund Von Braun Center expansion, greenway and school construction

The Huntsville City Council on July 9 approved a resolution creating Tax Increment Financing district TIF 9 and adopted a project plan that directs future incremental property tax revenues in the district to five specified capital projects.

Shane Davis, the city’s director of urban economic development, told the council the plan groups projects intended to address varied community needs, including repair and expansion of the Von Braun Civic Center’s North Hall; construction of a North Huntsville Beltline Greenway; the Mill Creek Park component of a Choice Neighborhood affordable housing partnership; Low Avenue improvements; and construction of a new Huntsville Middle School in partnership with Huntsville City Schools. Davis said the TIF proceeds would be used to pay project costs either through debt or cash until the projects are repaid and the TIF expires.

Davis said the TIF mechanism captures the increase in assessed value inside the district boundaries as determined by the Madison County tax assessor and does not raise the city’s millage rate. "It is not a tax increase," Davis said, explaining that the city cannot unilaterally change millage and that the TIF instead captures growth in assessed value within the defined boundary to fund the agreed projects.

Councilmembers asked questions about revenue mechanics and local impacts. Council member Kling asked directly whether the measure increased taxes; Davis replied, "No sir," and walked the council through the assessor and millage mechanics. The council president noted the Madison County Commission and other affected boards had reviewed and, in the county’s case, unanimously approved the plan.

The resolution passed by voice vote. City materials presented at the meeting list the five projects above as the authorized uses of captured TIF proceeds; details such as the TIF boundary legal description will be submitted to the tax assessor after the vote.

What happens next: staff said the legal description of the district will be submitted to the Madison County tax assessor to establish the TIF boundary. The resolution does not itself change millage; it establishes how future growth within the district will be allocated until project obligations are satisfied.