Housing conference to examine Wisconsin’s TIF system

The state’s Tax Incremental Finance system and how it helps communities develop is the focus of this year’s Wisconsin Housing Conference on Friday, May 13 at the Fluno Center.

The conference, “Wisconsin’s Tax Incremental Financing System: A Closer Look at How TIF is Working and Its Prospects as an Effective Community Development Tool,” will feature a keynote address by Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz on growing a middle class through affordable housing and healthy cites.

Co-sponsored by the UW–Madison Center for Real Estate, Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority and the state Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Housing, the conference will examine how TIF actually works, who uses it, who benefits from its use, and the implications of its use on housing.

Wisconsin’s TIF system was designed to provide assistance to redevelop blighted urban areas that could not be developed under normal market conditions. Since Wisconsin’s first TIF district was approved in 1976, its use has grown substantially. In the past four years alone, the property value in TIF districts has grown 50 percent to $9.6 billion.

The financing tool has become the norm in almost every corner of the state. In fact, 348 villages and 70 cities now have active TIF districts with more than 60 districts being created each year. TIF has become so pervasive that most cities and villages do not pursue large-scale infrastructure investment without it.

The conference is held each spring to focus public attention on issues relating to quality housing and neighborhoods in Wisconsin.