Tosa TIF For UMW County Grounds Project Raising Concerns Internally

I am hearing that Waueatosa school officials are growing concerned over the revenue uncertainties if a TIF district is created to help finance UWM's engineering school and innovation complex on the County Grounds.

Consideration of the plan - - in which a loan would be made at municipal interest rates and paid back with taxes generated by the project - - was pulled from Tosa's Plan Commission agenda for July 12.

The problem is that much and perhaps all the project would be tax-exempt, so loan payment revenue and eventual tax payments to the city and other taxing authorities, like the schools, would be nil.

UWM, and the developer, could pledge a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes scheme, but getting that nailed down would take some time.

I've said many times I think this project could die of its own weight.