News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The City of Crossville will ask lawmakers to amend legislation that offers tax-increment financing (TIF) for retail development.
Mayor James Mayberry said the state currently offers a sales tax TIF program to tier four distressed counties. He said Crossville should be allowed to participate in the program because three tier 4 counties border Cumberland County.
“My discussion is that we’re the center of a distressed region. People from these counties come here to work, shop, eat, recreation and so on and so forth,” Mayberry said. “Now, the governor’s biggest push right now is helping these distressed communities. This type of development is not going to happen in a distressed community. So that’s my whole theory about being the center of a distressed region. That we’re actually helping them and helping ourselves.”
The TIF program allows distressed communities to use state sales tax collections to fund bonds for developing retail operations. Crossville City Council approved a resolution during last week’s meeting that urges lawmakers to amend the law so the city can take advantage of the program.
The resolution states that any future development will create needed jobs for Cumberland County and bordering distressed counties. Mayberry said several retail and industrial prospects have expressed interest in moving to Crossville.
“This sales tax TIF were looking for, the state would forfeit their portion of sales tax revenue to fund a bond issue to develop the infrastructure to put a project like this together,” Mayberry said. “Which would help keep the construction costs lower for the developer and lease rates more reasonable to entice these national chains to come to Crossville and Cumberland County. Basically, it’s an enticement for the retailers to keep their costs low enough and make it more worthwhile for them to come here.”
Lawmakers will consider the resolution during the upcoming session.
