County to post signs highlighting use of TIF money
EJ Photo/Travis Charlson
Mitchell County is looking to post signs along roads and parks in effort to highlight some of the things the county has done with TIF money.
TIF, which stands for tax incriment financing, is a way of leveraging property taxes typically from large industries or companies to pay for local infrastructure needs.
Some Mitchell County citizens have voiced concerns about the county’s use of TIF, and are worried that Mitchell County might be abusing it.
County officials have said that the signs are an effort to be more transparent about where the money is going, by highlighting the projects that TIF money has paid for.
Since 2009, over 60 miles of road have been paved using TIF dollars, as well as the contruction of the new courthouse, renovtions to the Stacyville park, and the building of the Wapsie Valley trail, to name a few.
TIF paid for nothing. TIF is a tool. Taxes paid for the roads. TAXES. Taxes are the revenue that government extracts from you, the citizen that works, drives, buys things or from business/property owners. TAXES create nothing. Taxes-all taxes come about ONLY as a result of work or production of wealth through resources and labor. Politicians LOVE taxes. Taxes are the tool they use to show YOU all the good things they do for you. So, when you see politicians gloating about this project or that project remember that YOU or your neighbor have paid for all these things by the sweat of your labor.