Clarification

I wanted to go back to my previous post on the use of Tax Incremental Financing(TIF) Districts in towns.  I realize that blight that does exist in many smaller communities and is a serious problem.  I regret the mocking tone at the end of the post.

Currently, Wisconsin's TIF law only allows cities and villages to use the TIF tool.  What changed with the exemption for the Town of Brookfield is that they are now allowed to use the TIF as a tool for development.  Under no stretch of imagination would I use the word "blighted" in association with Brookfield, so this apparent abuse of the law angered me.

I'm not opposed to smaller municipalities having the ability to use TIF as a tool, as many towns have been hard-hit over the decades with downtown areas virtually abandoned.  However, this does pose a substantial risk as small towns typically don't have the staff to implement a TIF district, although I suppose it's possible they could contract it out.  It's also a financial risk should the TIF district not take off and they'd have done all those improvements paid with TIF money with no or very little increase in their tax bases.  Can town budgets take that fiscal hit?