Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is a fundraising mechanism provided to New Hampshire municipalities through RSA 162-K. It is based around the planning and creation of territorially defined areas called development districts. When one of these districts is created, the total property valuation of the area is recorded. Property taxes derived from that original valuation are treated as normal and continue to flow to the general fund.
The new taxes derived from the new development of the property (captured tax increment) can be directed towards funding projects laid out in the district’s development plan. Examples of Eligible Uses of TIF Funds: Roads, utilities, sidewalks, lighting, and other public infrastructure.
The Tax Increment Finance Committee, Tax Increment Finance Administrator and Town Council are charged with administering the tax increment funds towards improvements that benefit the whole community by attracting new development, revitalizing blight, and/or enacting quality of life projects.
The infrastructure provided within the TIF District has the benefit of significantly expanding the tax base and providing more or easier access to services for residents in a less financially impactful way. The Town of Hooksett has previously completed a successful TIF District in 2006. The 2006 TIF funding provided for the expansion of the roadway infrastructure at Exit 10. This roadway infrastructure expansion attracted the development of Target, Kohls, Bass Pro Shop, Walmart and Market Basket. In March 2017, Hooksett created a new TIF District along Route 3A corridor, to provide water and sewer infrastructure between Exit 10 and Exit 11. In January 2022, Town Council expanded the TIF District to include land on Rt. 3 (East Side) of the Merrimack River.
The TIF Committee seeks to submit a Warrant Article to fund the expansion of Sewer into Exit 10 area of the Rt. 3A corridor in accordance with the TIF Plan. Currently, all the businesses on the west side of the Merrimack River, along Rt. 3A, near Exit 10, are serviced by septic systems. The expansion of sewer in this area will retain the existing businesses and provide the needed infrastructure for economic expansion of vacant and/or underutilized properties within the Exit 10 district.
The following is the first phase of the sewer expansion project:
The cost of the total project presented in the chart above is $12,500,000. The warrant article requests funding for $9,540,000. Existing TIF funds in the amount of $860,000 will be applied to the project. $2,100,000 of the funding for this project will be provided by the Hooksett Sewer Commission. If approved, the Tax Increment collected by the new development within the district will be used to pay the bond debt. No Taxpayer Funds are used nor requested for this warrant article.
When the bond debt is finally paid off, which provided the sewer infrastructure, Town Council can vote to dissolve the TIF District, and the tax increment will then go to the general fund.
The benefits of a Tax Increment Finance District are: Encourages private investment, improves and/or expands infrastructure (i.e. roadway, sewer, water, etc.), and broadens the tax base over time.
— Andre Garron,
Town Administrator
