Guest Column: Modernizing TIF for the Next 50 Years

By Sen. Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit) 

For the last 15 years, hearing that the legislature was looking at modernizing and updating Wisconsin’s statutes about TIF/TID would have given me cause for concern. As the former Beloit City Council President, I have been a part of using TIF at the local level, I have seen the impact of successfully deploying TIF in our communities, and I know it is an essential tool for local development. In the past, “reform” often meant new restrictions, but as the majorities in the State Capitol change, a new set of legislators is taking the lead. I am excited to be one of them.

As economic development professionals, you know better than anyone that TIF is the most powerful tool in our state’s economic toolkit, and one of the only ones available to municipalities. However, the statutes governing TIF have not kept pace. You need look no further than to the repeated exceptions that pass in the State Legislature to see that our system is not working. When individual communities are repeatedly coming to the Capitol for one-off exemptions to get critical projects across the finish line, improvements are needed.

It’s time to stop legislating by exception and start legislating with purpose and intent. That is why I worked with Representative Clinton Anderson to draft and introduce a TIF Modernization Bill giving local leaders more flexibility to put TIF to work for our communities.

I believe that the 12% TIF cap is arbitrary, overly limiting, and penalizes success. That’s why we are proposing that we increase the cap from 12% to 18%. This adjustment acknowledges the successful and responsible use of TIF statewide over the past 50 years and will provide communities additional flexibility to grow into the future.

TIF has also been underutilized when it comes to housing and green spaces in our communities, especially as the need for more housing of all types and price points has become a focus in the legislature and for many municipalities. That’s why we are proposing to remove the 35% residential cap in mixed-use TIDs while also making housing and parks explicitly allowable uses for TIF funds.

I am also proud to have worked with Senator Melissa Ratcliff and Representative Alex Joers to introduce companion legislation that would allow three-year affordable housing extensions for TIDs that are closing, giving municipalities two more years of funding for housing in their community. Wisconsin’s housing crisis will not solve itself, and by removing these barriers, I hope to empower local communities to work with developers to support the workers Wisconsin businesses are desperate to hire and attract the families that represent the future of our state.

Finally, this modernization proposal corrects recent efforts to make TIF a less effective tool for local governments. 2023 Act 12 included provisions that actively hurt local government utilization of TIF by changing a TID’s impact on net new construction calculations to satisfy a single Senator who is no longer in office. We should repeal those changes entirely.

My goal for this legislation is very simple: lay the groundwork for a modern approach to TIF in our state statutes. We must move away from one-off exceptions and arbitrary limitations and give professionals and local elected leaders the tools to lead our communities into future success. Whether this legislation passes this session or comes back next session as majorities change further, I look forward to working with WEDA and its members to continue to encourage economic growth and development in local communities across Wisconsin.

Sen. Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit) is a member of the Wisconsin State Senate, representing the 15th Senate District.