To the joy of many residents in attendance at Tuesday's council meeting, Dillon Town Council approved the implementation of a “tax increment financing district,” a tool which will hopefully allow the town to increase funds for redevelopment.

The TIF district is a 25-year designation that would allow the Dillon Urban Renewal Authority — a commission of town council members created to improve the town's center and encourage development — to collect upon property taxes that go above a certain minimum. With the TIF district, the town estimates it could bring in $17.4 million over 25 years, something staff predicts could be used for 82,000 square-feet of new retail, 68,000 square-feet of new office space and 400 new residential units.

At a public hearing before the vote, resident Jerry Peterson said he has lived in Dillon since 1963, and has seen numerous plans to “get the town going.” He said it has been frozen in time for the last 10 years, and is currently known as “sleepy hollow with marina.”

“(TIF) is the best thing that has happened in a long time,” he told council. “I encourage you to build and keep moving forward.”

La Riva del Lago mall owner Abbas Rajabi told council he has spent millions trying to move forward in the town, and encouraged the council to vote the district in.

“We don't want to be stuck in time,” he said.

One resident spoke out against the TIF district, saying he liked the quiet nature of the current town, and feared it could become like Breckenridge.

Lost funds?

Before Tuesday's vote, Mayor Ron Holland said he wanted to see the district pushed forward, despite concerns over a likely devaluation in real property — Summit County predicts an 8 percent drop for Dillon — which could eat into some of the 25-year time period the town has to collect money and redevelop, especially if the trend continued.

Last year's property assessments and mill levies create a base year figure, which is then adjusted for inflation factors. What's remitted over and above that base year figure goes directly to the renewal authority — the first year of collections will be in 2013 and the last will be in 2037.

“It's been part of (the council's) agenda the whole time ... to be very proactive in the development field,” Holland said.

Councilman Geoff Schmidt was the only member of council who voted against the district, saying he preferred to wait and see if values increase.

There was also a concern over the possibility of upcoming state legislation that could make the creation of a TIF district harder, or even impossible.

“If we get it locked in, they can't take it away,” Dillon Business Association president Bill Falcone told council at worksession.

Sharing the profits

In TIF districts, other tax collectors — like fire districts or school systems — do not lose money, but usually do not make any when the profits go above the base figure, since it goes to the urban renewal authorities.

Acting town co-manager and finance director Carri McDonnell said the town met with both the Lake Dillon Fire Protection District and the Summit County School District about the possibility of a district. The fire district did request a portion of any profits to help them better cover any future build-out, to which McDonnell said they will “negotiate in good faith.”

Some of the fire district's members who attended Tuesday's worksession before the vote did make it clear they were in favor of the TIF district's creation.