Damakant Jayshi
The Marathon County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved members of the new Tax Increment Finance Task Force, accepting a recommendation from the board chair.
Chair Kurt Gibbs named eight of the nine members to the TIF task force, which was created in June. The task force’s composition is five county supervisors, two local elected officials, and one representative each from a local taxing district and business community.
Supervisors for the body are David Oberbeck, who was also named chair; Jacob Langenhahn, Gayle Marshall, Tom Rosenberg and Allen Drabek. Alder Lisa Rasmussen from the Wausau City Council and Gerald Fitzgerald, Clerk of the Town of Emmet are the two local elected officials, while Jean Schult is the business community representative.
No one has been named to represent one of the local taxing entities. The representative could likely come from either the Wausau School District or Northcentral Technical College.
Of the 30 supervisors who were present in person or virtually, 25 voted in favor and five against.
Some Marathon County Board supervisors and representatives of municipalities have expressed concern that the board, by creating the task force, was trying to shut down a vital redevelopment tool for properties in their areas. Those in favor say the group can study the impact tax increment financing has on the greater community as a whole and examine the cost to taxpayers. TIF critics say the tool has gotten out of control and is a boon only to wealthy developers.
Some members of the board opposed the new group, citing concerns over how municipalities are being represented. There are 17 municipalities in Marathon County that together have 40 active tax increment districts. Of those, just two are represented on the task force.
