TIF Zone No. 2

What is a TIF? 
Tax Increment Financing Zone (can also be called TIRZ – Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone) is a particular area, designated by city council where improvements need to be made. 

The Burleson Old Town TIF started in 2005 includes 720 acres along Interstate Highway 35, including Old Town and extending east to the south of Spinks Airport and to the west to the 174 corridor.

What kind of improvements?
Improvements in TIF’s can vary from roads, sidewalks, street lighting, curbs and gutters. Extending water, sewer and broadband and other items. The Burleson Old Town TIF projects have included the Renfro Square and the B&G Building, streetscaping and parking in Old Town, public improvements at the Old Town Station development and the Mayor Vera Calvin Plaza. New this year, the TIF will fund two police officers who will spend the majority of their time in this district. 

Public Improvements at the Depot on Main Street and the Ellison on the Plaza development have also been approved for TIF funding.  

How does a TIF work?
 A TIF is not an additional tax to businesses or homeowners. 

All landowners in the TIF district pay taxes based on the value of their property. At the beginning of the TIF the value of those properties become frozen for the time period of the TIF. The Old Town Burleson TIF extends until 2041.

When redevelopment happens, property values go up. The additional city taxes paid on top of the property’s beginning amount goes into the TIF fund. tif graph

So what does that look like for Burleson? At the beginning of the Old Town Burleson TIF in 2006, the base value was approximately $58 million. The TIF has grown and is now valued at over $198 million dollars. 

So that means that the property taxes on the $58 million base value continue to go into the city’s general fund. BUT the property taxes on the amount over the base value, a little over $139 million go to the TIF fund. The funding then can only be used for improvements in the 720 acres of the TIF. In 2021, the TIF revenue was a little over $957,000. In 2006, the TIF revenue was $44,878. 

When the TIF ends all the funds will go into the city’s general fund.