School Board Favors Proposed Second Airport TIF District

School Board members expressed approval for the proposed creation of a second Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District near the airport.

Town Manager Kevin Smith spoke at the Board’s Oct. 6 meeting about the new TIF District, and said it would not commence until the Town’s current Airport TIF on Pettengill Road dissolves in January, after the upcoming tax bills are sent out to residents.

“The intended purpose of the new TIF District is to do much of what the first one did,” he said. “We will be reimbursing developers for infrastructure costs, so the Town would never go into the red.”

Smith noted the Town is happy to report this year that it has added approximately $90 million in new valuation to the tax rolls, of which $78 million was generated from properties in the Pettengill Road area, as previously reported in the Londonderry Times.

“Only $11 million in valuation, which equates to about $232,000, is being held from that to pay off the balance on the traffic light,” he said. “Given the fact the valuation is close to $60 million higher than we predicted, it will have a positive impact on both the Town and School District’s tax rate.”

The Town won’t know how much of an impact the new valuation will have on the tax rate until the Department of Revenue sets the tax rate.

With even more development anticipated in that area, the Town is proposing the creation of the smaller, 202-acre TIF District, to facilitate the same success realized through the initial TIF, according to Smith.

Without the approximately $1.2 million investment for the construction of proposed North and South Spur Roads, Smith told the Board there are projects developers are considering moving forward with that might not come to fruition.

“It’s a very small investment for a very large return,” he said, noting they anticipate the additional TIF will help bring another $90 million in tax valuation for the new commercial industrial development anticipated in the area of Pettengill Road.

“We certainly can’t predict the future and what this will bring, but past performance is a very good indicator of the future results we may get. The numbers you’re quoting – those are annuities, not one-time payment. Those happen every year and those increase,” chairman Steve Young said. “I think it’s good news and I think for us, it’s reasonable you’re restricting it to a smaller area so we’re not reaching into other areas of the community. I think this is what the School District and the Town have been striving to achieve for a decade.”

The Town Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed TIF District at its Oct. 19 meeting at 7 p.m. in the Moose Hill Chamber at Town Hall.

A map of the proposed TIF District is available on the Town’s website at www.londonderrynh.org.

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