EAST MOLINE, Illinois — East Moline is looking to create a new tax increment financing (TIF) district. A TIF district lowers the tax burden for businesses coming into the area to encourage economic growth.
At a Monday, Feb. 19 Committee of the Whole meeting, city council took the next step in developing the TIF, approving consultant work to identify the best place for a new district.
East Moline already has TIF districts along the riverfront, downtown and Avenue of the Cities. City administrator Mark Rothert said ideally, a new TIF district would connect these areas together so businesses can grow closer to each other. He added that they want to make sure other parts of the community are served fairly.
"Our school district for example, they're a key partner in development. They're training our future workforce. So we have to work with our school district, as an example to work out something that is fair for them, when we implement tax increment financing," Rothert said.
At the same time, the city is working on a business development district which also seeks to help businesses.
On the TIF district, Rothert said it will take about 4-6 months for them to create it, if all meetings go as planned.