Special Bd. of Aldermen — 03/6/2018 Page 2
Indiana’s YouTube video. “A city’s heart: bridges, tree-lined trails, emerald green parks, industry and
commerce, the unseen that hangs below, water, warmth, power all made possible by one common economic
thread — tax increment financing. A vibrant and independent community holds itself up by its bootstraps.
How? By skillfully obtaining funds to fortify growth and quality of life. Bootstrapping happens with tax
increment financing.
Tax increment financing is a way to pay for infrastructure. The idea is that we’re going to get the development
itself or the owners of the newly build industry or commercial buildings to actually pay for the infrastructure that
was required in order to allow them to locate in the community. A business pays taxes on the property it builds
upon. Those taxes go into the TIF to pay for the infrastructure that the business needs.
It’s the TIF that really pushes you over the edge to say we can do this. We can bring water and sewer to your
site. We can buy land and turn it over to you for $1 so you can build your building and have more equity going
forward and it’s easy for you to finance your building in order for you to be here.
TIF allows community leaders to be nimble, act quickly to put an offer on the table, and attract and expand new
business.
The feedback that we’ve always gotten here in Lafayette is how well this community works together and it’s
credible. I’m not originally from Indiana. When | came to this community, it was remarkable to me how well
people worked together. That’s in everything that’s accomplished in the community and most specifically when
it comes to economic development all hands on deck. Everyone works together to be able to put the packages
together to attract, retain, and help companies grow. It’s been a wonderful experience for us and | know for
others coming in much like our latest and newest addition to the community — GE Aviation.
Putting together the total incentive package between the State, County, and the City, TIF was a big piece of
that and it did help GE select the site as one of the sites to consider.
GE Aviation and neighboring Nanchan Aluminum Company needed a truck friendly boulevard to support their
businesses. TIF transformed a sleepy county road into a beautiful thoroughfare that meets the needs of
manufacturers and citizens.
We also used TIF money to upgrade. At the time it was County Road 350 South and now its Veterans
Memorial Parkway and that’s a very important connection to State Road 38 and I65 for there’s manufacturers
that are out there but is also one of the main thoroughfares for the public to get in and around Lafayette. We
use the tax increment financing dollars to take from a two lane county road into a four land boulevard and it
has landscaping, new lighting, and also trails and sidewalks along it.
Perdue Research Park in West Lafayette, Indiana, supports innovation, new startup businesses, and a high
quality work environment. The community and Perdue form a symbiotic partnership. Growth here was
stagnating until the TIF tool became available. The majority of growth took place after Perdue Research Park
became a TIF district.
With TIF funding with that being including a TIF district, the park has grown exponentially every year. We now
employ over 4,000 people. It is THE largest certified tech. park in the State of Indiana. It is one of the biggest
draws to this community.
Rural communities do not have the number of manufacturing plants that a city has yet through TIF, Carroll
County Indiana attracted Indiana Packers. The county’s new industrial park charmed a California food process
to locate there.
Back in 1992, Indiana Packer promised us that they would bring in roughly 200 — 400 employees and as of
today, their growth has went up to 2,100 employees working there.
