Timnath trustee concerned about tax diversion

By Dan MacArthur
Timnath Correspondent

Timnath's creation of an urban renewal authority aroused sharp criticism from a town trustee who termed it a "dishonorable" subsidy to developers at the expense of the school district and other local governments that rely on property taxes to provide public services.

"We have formally blamed our problems on someone else and taken tax revenues from other entities," trustee Tim Gaines wrote in an e-mail following the town board's Nov. 10 action.

Gaines was the only dissenter in the 4-1 vote to adopt the "blight study" and resolution necessary to create the urban renewal authority. URAs enable municipalities to retain additional property tax revenues generated by development of properties within the authority's boundaries for up to 25 years. Those retained revenues can be used to finance public improvements aimed at alleviating a broadly defined range of "blighted" conditions necessary to exist for designation of a URA.

"The study finding blight was a farce," Gaines wrote. "The authority can't and won't even try to solve the stuff in the study. Most of the plan seems aimed at paving the road so that developers' plans can roll along smoothly."

Gaines said the board's action was the first during his 22-year tenure that made him want to resign. But instead, Gaines said, he will remain to work toward ensuring the URA revenues actually are applied toward improving the "blighted" conditions in the original part of town rather than to facilitate development of the hundreds of acres the board has annexed.

Currently, the town proposes to apply the URA revenues to improving the Boxelder Creek overflow and the Harmony Road bridge over the Poudre River.

Gaines said he also objects to the fact that the URA would retain new revenues that otherwise would go to the school district, county and other taxing districts. He was unswayed by the argument that there would have been no new tax revenues in the first place without the development the URA would encourage.

"The development wouldn't be there without our willingness to take the money," he countered.

Mayor Donna Benson said Gaines' concerns will be addressed on Dec. 15 when the board considers adopting a plan for allocating the URA revenues. That discussion was specifically continued, she responded in an e-mail, to allow more time for responses from other government entities, particularly the school district.

"I think we will have some healthy discussions around the whole urban renewal issue," Benson wrote. "Obviously this is controversial for some."