Redevelopment is on the move . . .

Redevelopment is on the move despite Commisioner Romaniello's questions as to, heck I don't even know want she was asking. At the Tif meeting on Monday night Commissioner Romaniello asked several questions all which brought on the question from the committee; "Where are you going with this Lisa?" Her response each time was to walk away from the microphone. She wanted this meeting televised, but it was not. She is probably happy 'cause my source tells me she did not get the sound bites she needs for her campaign. Looks as though we are one step closer to having a serious developer contact the twp to do some work here. Stay tuned!

Moving closer to dispersing tax revenue
By DOM COSENTINOThe Intelligencer
The township, the school district and Montgomery County are close to having guidelines in place for using new tax revenue to help finance redevelopment in Willow Grove.
Officials from all three taxing entities met Monday night to parse the language of the proposed “tax increment financing” guidelines, including what percentage each is prepared to pledge toward it. The two-hour meeting went smoothly, with much of the discussion centering on a small portion of the nine-page document.
A property's assessed value increases, in theory, when it is revitalized, therefore generating more tax revenue for the township, school district and county, all of which levy taxes on Upper Moreland properties.
The enticement of a so-called TIF is that it promises to use that new tax revenue to help pay the developer's costs.
“It's a no-brainer,” said Sam Valenza, vice president of the township board of supervisors and chairman of the TIF committee formed to create the guidelines. “It's win-win for everybody to get this thing moving.”
Monday night, the township decided to pledge a range of 85 to 100 percent of increased TIF revenues, depending on a project's desirability.


It's clear that the township wants to encourage business development and infrastructure improvements within the TIF district.
Bruce Nicholson, a lawyer for the Montgomery County Redevelopment Authority, said the county would typically pledge the same as the local municipality, at least based on previous programs in Pottstown and Norristown.
The school district set a ceiling of 50 percent, though it had discussed going as high as 75 percent. The school board will not meet to determine the district's pledge until its next regular meeting at the end of this month.
Once the guidelines have the necessary approvals from each taxing body, they will then be advertised, a process that could be completed as soon as September.

Dom Cosentino can be reached at 215-345-3148 or dcosentino@phillyBurbs.com.