Weston's referendum failed - it's now closing its TIF District
Weston seems to be doing the reverse of what Wausau did with its firefighter position funding
The village of Weston held a special meeting Monday evening. The only thing on the agenda: closing TIF District No. 1.
While the village of Kronenwetter canceled its board meeting that evening in response to severe weather, including nearby tornado touchdowns in nearby areas, Weston held firm. Why? The village had until April 15 to officially close the district.
Why the urgency?
Finance Director Jessica Trautman explained that since the district’s closure was last discussed in January, more payments have come in from some of the major projects such as the Weston Avenue road project and more is known about the village’s ability to pay off the more than $10 million in debt in order to close the district.
But the other reason likely has to do with capacity. Weston voters rejected handily a referendum that asked village taxpayers to add $600,000 of levy above levy limits in order to pay for the village’s share of six new firefighters in the SAFER Fire District.
Closing the TIF District puts properties in that district back on the tax rolls at their full capacity. That means money to fund firefighters.
In a sense, it’s Wausau’s firefighter situation in reverse.
