agencies that may occupy the building or other facility. There is also a
trustee, often a bank or other financial institution, who represents the
interests of the investors, receiving and holding bond proceeds, and
receiving and disbursing lease payments once the project is completed.
The lessor agency issues the COPs and works with the trustee that sells
the obligations. In some instances, the trustee may simply maintain the COP
as part of its own portfolio. Once the project is complete, lease payments
from the issuing government are sent to the trustee for distribution to the
individual investors. Upon retirement of the debt the leased facility becomes
the property of the government. This is often called a lease-purchase
agreement.
The primary benefit of this type of debt is that, technically, it is revenue
debt. That is, the lease payments are pledged by the lessor agency as the
stream of revenue that secures the debt. This means that the debt may sell
at a slightly higher interest rate, but the bonds do not require voter approval
and may not count against a constitutional or statutory debt limit.
3.3.2.4 Tax Increment Bonds
Tax increment bonds are generally associated with a geographic area called
a tax increment financing district (TIF). Pioneered in Illinois, the TIF district
was conceptualized as a means of spurring economic development in
blighted areas where it would not likely occur otherwise. The basic idea is
to identify improvements that will produce economic development causing
property values to rise. The debt used to fund the improvemnts is secured
by the ad valorem property tax increase (see Paetsch and Dahlstrom, 1990).
The first step in establishing a TIF is to determine the boundaries of the
district. In some states the TIF is still limited to blighted areas, but more and
more local governments are using the tactic as a way to accelerate growth in
thriving areas. Once the boundaries are set, each of the overlapping
jurisdictions that have taxing power are enlisted to participate in the TIF.
This is critical for success and, in most instances, an absolute requirement.
For tax levy purposes, each jurisdiction freezes the assessed value of each
parcel within the district and continues to bill the property owner based on
that value for a specified period of time, typically five or ten years but
possibly longer.
The TIF district proceeds with improvements that may include streets,
sidewalks, street lighting, water and sewer lines. The agency may also
demolish abandoned structures or sell abandoned property to developers
at bargain prices. Once development occurs, property values are reassessed.
The incremental ad valorem property tax revenue is paid to the TIF district
to retire the debt. After the specified period, the TIF district is dissolved
and each overlapping district uses the new property values for its levy.