Collegian | Josh Hypes
The Hillsdale City Council appointed a county commissioner to the Tax Increment Finance Authority and announced a large land deal at its Tuesday, Jan. 18 meeting.
TIFA is a city board committed to creating economic opportunity, providing support for small businesses, and preserving property values in the community, according to Mayor Adam Stockford.
Mary Wolfram held the position on the board before county commissioner Douglas Ingles’ appointment and worked on improving properties owned by the city, Stockford said.
“Mary has done a wonderful job. Those buildings needed attention, desperately,” councilman Ray Briner said. “TIFA saw that, had the funds to purchase them, and saw a vision. And Mary was kind of the driving force behind that vision.”
Stockford said the city recently sold land to private individuals for farming and business, which he said hopes will be a significant source of revenue for the city.
“It’s a big deal, guys, it’s huge,” Stockford said.
“I was so happy to put my signature on the biggest land deal in Hillsdale’s history,” Stockford said on Facebook. “We have successfully sold the entirety of our industrial park land for development. We put nearly 200 acres of public land into private hands, and with one stroke, doubled the revenue in our industrial park. I can’t overstate what a big win this is for the people of Hillsdale. Working local, spending local, a win for everyone.”
The city will oversee the zoning of the new properties.
The spokesman for the deal, Dave Williams, said, “the city would recognize the revenue and we will be putting it into private hands.”
Stockford said,“This is a big win for us to start off the new year. I was dancing around in my kitchen when this first fell together.”
The council also approved guidelines for poverty exemption to be used by the city Board of Review for exemptions from paying property taxes for poverty reasons. The new guidelines have been updated to meet new Michigan state standards, according to the resolution.