FARMINGTON – If county commissioners want to capture some new tax revenue to support economic development, then planning needs to take place before a proposed wind power project’s value is counted toward the county’s state valuation.

Alison Hagerstrom, executive director of Greater Franklin Development Corp., which gets $60,000 annually from the county’s budget, told commissioners Tuesday that with TransCanada’s Kibby wind energy project looking like its heading for approval, now may be the time to consider a tax-increment financing program.

The Maine Land Use Regulation Commission voted unanimously Jan. 14 to have its staff draft an approval recommendation for the $270 million, 44-wind turbine project slated for Kibby and Skinner townships in northern Franklin County.

Greg Mitchell, a consultant with Eaton Peabody Consulting Group LLC specializing in economic development, gave Franklin County commissioners an overview of TIFs, including information on one approved by Washington County commissioners for the Stetson Mountain wind project.

This is all just educational discussion, Mitchell said.

“Tax increment financing is a financing program whereby taxes on the incremental new value of development is used to fund the economic development programs and projects included in the development program,” according to information Mitchell passed out.

There are several ways a TIF could be set up, Mitchell said. His firm worked with Kingfield selectmen on the agreement negotiated between that town and Poland Spring Water Co. for its bottling plant.

An agreement could be set up where the county takes some of the new tax revenue and turns it back to the project in a credit enhancement program. Or a TIF district could be set up to take a portion of the revenue to fund county-based economic development. Or the county could set up a TIF program with all the captured tax revenue going to a county economic development fund and none going back to the project.

In the Stetson Mountain case, the project was estimated to be valued at $100 million, of which $80 million could be assessed as tax revenue, Mitchell said.

The TIF program was set up so that 60 percent went back to the project and Washington County retained 40 percent. The average annual tax revenue generated is estimated to be about $450,000, Mitchell said, over the 20-year period.

The revenue captured in the unorganized territory, that normally would have gone to the state, was applied to support economic development and means the value doesn’t get counted toward state valuation, Mitchell said.

Commissioners would need to define geographical boundaries of the district, where the money is going to be generated and where the money would be spent, he said.

The revenue could support the project inside the TIF district or outside the district on a related project, Mitchell said.

Another way to use the TIF revenue would be related to general economic development in unorganized territories toward staffing, a revolving loan fund, matching grant funds and more, Mitchell said.

“You are in the driver’s seat every step of the way,” Mitchell told commissioners. It is a way to retain some of the revenue that you would not normally be able to obtain, he added.

Commissioners said they would consider discussion on a TIF if TransCanada requests it.

Commissioner Fred Hardy of New Sharon said he was interested in seeing if the money could offset some of the $60,000 the county gives to the Greater Franklin Development Corp. toward its annual budget.

Prior to commissioners’ approval of any TIF agreement, it would first go to a public hearing before the panel voted on it and then would to go before the state for approval.

“TransCanada is evaluating the TIF that Stetson received and reviewing the details,” Kiersten Tucker, a TransCanada spokesman said Tuesday. “We continue to evaluate all aspects of the Kibby project.”