Tax Increment Financing District Considered for West Louisville

Morgan Watkins reports: "A bipartisan group of [Kentucky] lawmakers wants to boost long-term, community-driven economic development in west Louisville — a region hurt by decades' worth of disinvestment — by establishing a tax increment financing district that ensures local tax dollars are reinvested in its neighborhoods."

"A TIF district allows for current development to be financed with future tax revenues from the increases in property values, as well as in sales taxes and other kinds of taxation, that are anticipated as an area's economic revitalization unfolds," explains Watkins.

The state law proposes a 30-year TIF district for "the part of the city that stretches west of Ninth Street and north of Algonquin Parkway," according to Watkins.

According to the article, the part of the city targeted for the TIF district is home to many of the city's Black residents, many of which are low-income. The legislators hope the TIF would address problems rooted in systemic racism awhile also including safeguards against gentrification. To ensure that property taxes stay reasonable for existing residents, the legislation would cap property tax increases based on values assessed this year. The legislation also includes provisions to encourage community involvement in vetting potential development projects.