Parts of the Village of Cashton are construction zones with two road reconstructions underway on Albion Street and Main Street.
Both projects have been temporarily shut down for the season, but Public Works Director Dave Bekkum says the work will start up again this spring. The projects include total reconstruction of the streets, which began two months ago.
Both thoroughfares will be getting new water and sewer mains, storm sewers, new curb and gutter and will be resurfaced. Bekkum said those road projects should be completed in June.
Two other street projects are expected to begin later this year. Hagen and Park streets also are scheduled for reconstruction.
All four street reconstructions will cost around $3 million with the money coming from tax incremental finance (TIF) funding.
The village completed a reconstruction project on Ontario Avenue last year, while Hwy. 33 was done in 2019. According to Bekkum, there are no immediate plans for future projects.
With roads being ripped up in the next six months, we’re pretty busy with that,” he said.
How TIF financing works
A Tax Incremental District (TID) is the land area in a municipality in which development and redevelopment projects are being done.
A city or other municipality funds improvements in a TID through Tax Incremental Financing (TIF), which uses tax money generated in the TID exclusively for planned improvements.
The land's value before the TID was created is considered the tax base. The land's value above the base, after the property is improved, is the increment.
The taxing jurisdictions (county, school district, WTC, etc.) continued to receive tax revenue form TID properties at the rate they received before the TID was created. The TID uses the extra tax revenue generated from higher assessed value on improvement to the properties to install infrastructure such as roads, sewer and water, streets, etc., in the TID.
For example, if a $100,000 property within a newly created TID becomes worth $1 million after it is improved, taxing jurisdictions would be paid as if it was still valued at $100,000. The remaining tax revenue is used for paying off improvements.
Property owners within TIDs receive no special treatment, paying the exact same tax rate as everybody else in the city.
Once the TID is closed, all future annual tax revenue received from properties is distributed to all taxing jurisdictions.
