AUBURN – A redrawn mall-area TIF won’t include Wal-Mart, but it will take a bigger bite of taxes from future shopping area developments.

An amended tax increment finance district will redirect all new tax money paid from Lowes, Mount Auburn Plaza, Burger King, Lamey Wellehan and future developments along Turner Street through 2021 to pay for road improvements in the area.

But Wal-Mart, which was originally a part of the district, will come out. It should bring plenty of revenue to the city’s general fund, according to Economic Development Director Roland Miller.

“This pays for some significant city developments that are going to make the entire area more attractive,” Miller said. “I don’t just mean the developments in the district, but others along Turner Street and Mount Auburn Avenue that wouldn’t come to the community without these improvements.”

Councilors are scheduled to vote on the amendments to the TIF district at their Sept. 25 meeting. They listened to Miller’s briefing on the plan Monday during a workshop meeting.

All of the changes would be made in TIF District 9, which was created by councilors in 2002. It was designed to set aside 40 percent of new tax revenues from future development to pay for road improvements. The rest would have gone to the city’s general fund budget.

The changed district would take 100 percent new tax revenue instead. All of the revenues would pay debt service on a $5 million bond issue for road work.

“It’s a trade off,” Miller said. “We made the district smaller, but needed to take more of the new revenue.”

Having Wal-Mart pay all of its property taxes directly in the general fund helps, he said.

Challenges

Not everyone is convinced it’s a wise idea, however.

“If 100 percent of the new revenue is going to pay for this development, who is going to pay for the police that need to respond to these developments, or to the public works crew or fire crew that need to respond there?” asked Jonathan Labonte, of 40 Reginald St.

Labonte was also critical of the way the city has handled its TIF districts, pointing to irregularities between the city and state records made public last month.

The state’s Department of Economic and Community Development confirmed that it does not have written copies of two Auburn TIF districts, including TIF 9. City Manager Pat Finnigan said the districts were approved by the City Council and are valid and legal. A paperwork problem must have prevented the state from having copies, she said.

Miller said the district would have to be amended anyway. Councilors approved a second TIF in the area in June that overlaps TIF District 9.

“We have a $5 million bond that was supposed to be backed by a TIF district,” Labonte said. “Now we are in the position of having to change that TIF district to make sure it can pay that $5 million bond.”