TIF district in Verona shows potential payoff in La Crosse

City has 12 TIF districts worth tens of millions of dollars.

For many voters in La Crosse, the idea that complex tax incremental finance (TIF) districts will eventually have a payoff seems far fetched.  

TIFs might be little understood and often maligned but they can certainly be impactful over time.  

Something made very clear this week by a school referendum passed in Verona, Wis.

Voters there approved a $181 million referendum to renovate the school district. One of the largest referendums in state history will cost the average homeowner in Verona all of a $100 per year. Had they not voted for the referendum, school property tax savings alone would have been over $500 per year.

One reason it passed: A big TIF district has retired, meaning all of the tax revenue from that district flows into local coffers for, not only the city of Verona, but also the school district. And it’s that district that will net about $140 million over the next 20 years – something that made it much easier for Verona voters this week to approve the referendum.

The city of La Crosse has a dozen TIF districts – worth tens of millions of dollars – all of which will eventually generate tax revenue for the school district, as well as city and county government. The next one is scheduled to be retired in 2019.