As Anaconda's downtown TIF district marks its halfway point, recipients celebrate its successes

Yet the Montana Chamber of Commerce cautions that if changes aren't made to TIFs statewide, legislature will axe them

Today's the day for businesses within the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Urban Renewal Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District to get in their applications for the latest round of grants, if they haven't done so already (see "TIF grants open for businesses" in the Aug. 18, 2023 Anaconda Leader). 

And it's also a day to celebrate, as at seven-and-a-half years since the TIF board was established, it marks the halfway point of the district's 15-year lifespan of awarding grants for economic development funded by tax dollars from economic development within that district. 

Yet Anaconda's Downtown TIF District – and all other TIFs in the State of Montana – may not survive to the end of its lifespan, or past the next legislative session, as the Montana Chamber of Commerce, a leading proponent of tax increment finance in the Treasure State, is cautioning that if changes aren't made statewide, the Montana Legislature will do away with them completely. 

As Todd O'Hair, president and CEO of the Montana Chamber of Commerce, indicated at a Bureau of Business and Economic Research seminar in Butte last month and expanded upon in a telephone interview with the Anaconda Leader this week, attempts were made at the 2023 Legislative Session to make TIFs "impractical to be able to use." 

"There was momentum to make some pretty dramatic changes to how TIFs work in the state," said O'Hair, noting that there were "two or three bills" brought forward by Sen. Greg Hertz (R-Polson) that the Montana Chamber of Commerce believed would make TIFs unworkable. 

"We think [tax increment finance] is an important economic development tool. It's an important infrastructure tool for communities," O'Hair said. Yet he added that "if we're willing to admit that there are some improvements that need to be made to it" then TIFs can be saved.

"I think there are more success stories than there are problems, but some of the concerns are legitimate enough that we need to figure out a way to mitigate that or improve that," he said. "We're coming at it from a perspective that it's an important tool for economic development, for infrastructure, and asking are there improvements we can make for how they're administered from an oversight perspective to take away some of the angst of how TIFs work and, along the way, to make it even better. It's doing some really good things."

Things like putting a new roof on Anaconda's American Legion Hall.

John Stevenson, adjutant for Post No. 21, recalled attending a recent ADLC Urban Renewal Agency TIF Board meeting where businesses and organizations were requesting funds from the TIF, including the American Legion which he was representing, and this was his takeaway.  

"The people on the board were genuinely caring about the community. They wanted to see it thrive and look good. Some good people that were genuinely concerned about the betterment of the community,” Stevenson said.

Stevenson said the Legion received a $15,425 matching grant this past spring to make essential roof repairs to their building. The money allowed them to reimburse the contractor who had previously done the work. The veterans' organization worked long and hard throughout the community to raise the funds, which may have not been made possible without the TIF money.

And the Legion isn't the only one. Far from it. Black Dog Antiques owner Renee Amato has utilized the program on two occasions, and it's a resource for which she is grateful. 

"I have actually used it twice, the last time was this past year and I had all the windows on the second floor done. I've owned the building for 20 years, and they [the windows] were here before I was, so it was something that needed to be done," Amato said.

She explained that the TIF had matched her investment and the renovation would not have been possible without the grant. 

"I’ve also used them to replace the doors in the store and they helped with paint. I think it’s a wonderful program," she said.

Asked how the loss of these grants would negatively affect the community, Amato said "The past few years I've noticed the beautiful changes in the downtown area. The facelifts have been amazing and I would hate to see that turn in the other direction. So, I know that the TIF money has really helped to make that happen. I know several businesses that have been given grants and used it to beautify. The progress that's being made is amazing. Growth is happening, change is happening, and the town has never looked better and will continue to look better, so it's good."

Jana Roe, current manager of Jordi's Cantina and a previous manager of Donivan's Restaurant, concurred, explaining why the TIF grant was not only helpful but critical for the betterment of both of those establishments. 

"It was amazing here at Jordi's. They helped put a new air system on the return air and heat and cooling on the roof. We had a hood system, but it wasn't fully fixed. It has been wonderful, it's helped us be able to spend the money elsewhere to make sure everything is good and proper, you know, equipment that's running properly and safely," Roe said. "Working at Donivan's we utilized it there a lot. There was a winter, 'Snowmageddon,' the roof was horrible and we had buckets everywhere because the roof was so bad and at that point they did not have the money to fix it, so that was a make-or-break. It helped with the skylight. We utilized it there on a couple different projects. I think that it helps small businesses so immensely. There are so many things that could be done in this area that make visually better functionally better, keeping business in this downtown area is vital to Anaconda."

That's O'Hair's perspective as well: The importance of TIFs to the vitality – and revitalization – of downtown business districts. 

"Ideally it's the kind of activity we're trying to see," he said. "If we can minimize sprawl, if we can continue to consolidate development particularly in areas that are already developed and in need of some revitalization, those are good things for our communities, they're good for our environment and good for the state as a whole."

That's why O'Hair said the Montana Chamber of Commerce is bringing together businesses throughout the state that have utilized TIFs to form a coalition that's exploring ways to improve the way TIFs operate, to address the concerns that were brought to the legislature ahead of the 2025 Legislative Session and to get the word out about what TIFs are and what they're for.

"We've taken this on as a priority. We're two months into these organizational meetings, and all of this is to see if we can identify some proposals to bring forward. We'll work with local government officials to get on the same page, then we'll work with legislators on an educational component as to what TIFs are – and what they aren't," O'Hair said. "It's a big issue, it's an important issue, and it's going to take time so we need to be ready for January 2025 with a package that takes up some of the frustrations by legislators and that is still something that is workable for businesses that want to invest in areas that need to be invested in, and for communities that want to be invested in. A package of improvements for TIF districts in the state."

Asked what such a legislative package might include, O'Hair pointed to oversight as one area to address.

"Every community has a different approach to how they provide oversight of their TIFs. Maybe we could have a more consistent uniform oversight of TIFs statewide. Some boards act independently, some report to the city council. I think providing a level of consistency of that oversight is one of the components we're looking at," O'Hair said.

"Some of what we heard is there are a number of citizens who would testify and were complaining bitterly that their TIF board is making a decision in their community and they felt it was the wrong decision and didn’t have any recourse, but perhaps if you have TIF decisions all come to an elected body then voters will have recourse to say when it comes to election time, here's what we want to do with these TIF districts. We're starting out frankly putting everything on the table and, as we discuss it, we take things off the table and have some more discussion. We've also talked a bit about blight. There was some discussion at the legislature that communities are using it for addressing blight. Is there some way to define what constitutes blight? But if you narrow it too much you kind of take away the ability of people to address the concerns of their community." 

Anaconda-Deer Lodge County's Urban Renewal Agency TIF Board, administered by Discover Anaconda, reports to the ADLC Commission. For more information about the TIF, including a map of the district, visit https://www.adlc.us/242/Urban-Renewal-Agency-URA.