PLEASANT PRAIRIE ISSUES BONDS FOR PROJECTS IN TID #2 AND REFUNDS BONDS FOR $460,694 IN INTEREST SAVINGS
On May 4, 2015, the Pleasant Prairie Village Board authorized the issuance and sale of General Obligation Bonds totaling $13,450,000 for its Tax Increment District (TID) #2. The funds will be used to pay for the cost of projects that will be completed within TID #2 both east and west of Interstate 94, near Highway 165, and near 39th Avenue. Projects included in the Project Plan for TID #2 include sanitary sewer, storm sewer, water main, grading, roadway work, and other improvements for the second phase of Uline’s Corporate Campus. A portion of the funds, $500,000, will also be used to provide low interest loans through the Kenosha Area Business Alliance.
Also on May 4, the Village Board authorized the issuance and sale of General Obligation Refunding Bonds totaling nearly $9,355,000. The refunding (or refinancing) of these bonds will generate a savings of $460,694 in interest payments over the next two years. The refunded bonds were originally issued in 2004 for land acquisition and the installation of fiber optic cable to accommodate high-speed internet within the TID. Both projects helped make long-term economic development in this area possible.
Between 1999, when Pleasant Prairie’s TID #2 was established, and the end of 2014, the Village has issued approximately $141,000,000 in debt for projects within TID #2. To date, approximately $81,000,000 of that debt has been retired and approximately $60,000,000 remains outstanding. During 2014, the property tax increment collected was $8,390,460, and the majority that increment was used to pay down TID debt. Debt issued for work within TID #2 will continue to be paid with property taxes from the business development within TID #2; property taxes collected from properties outside of the TID boundaries are not used to pay for any TID improvements, programs or debt. TID #2 is on target to retire with all debt paid off by the year 2021.
As of December 2014, the value of Pleasant Prairie’s TID #2 is $468,533,800. The TID’s value accounts for approximately 17.7% of the total value of the Village, which is $2,651,867,100. Village Administrator Michael Pollocoff commented, “When you look at the amount of value created by this investment, you can see a solid return that will benefit both taxpayers and the taxing entities in our community once the TID retires in 2021. Current projections indicate that when the TID is retired in 2021, $13.7 million will be distributed across all of the taxing entities affected by the TID, and this should have a favorable impact on the cost of providing services to the people who live in our community.”