St. Joseph County Eyes Microsoft Data Center TIF for Infrastructure Funding
The St. Joseph County Council has proposed a plan to bring the Microsoft data center in Granger into a special Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district.
The TIF would allow the county to freeze current property tax levels and capture future growth, which could fund projects like road work, park space, water and sewer upgrades, and a Douglas Road rail overpass.
According to Bill Schalliol, St. Joseph County economic development director, the TIF revenue could eventually be used for other purposes such as funding fire territories and schools, but those negotiations would only begin after the expanded TIF is approved.
Council members Randall Figg and Bryan Tanner expressed concerns about the proposal, with Figg stating that the county loses property tax money and needs a defined purpose for the funds, while Tanner said there need to be guardrails on how the money is spent.