A number of social-services providers in Delaware County met Feb. 9 to discuss the effect that tax-increment-financing districts (TIFs) have on revenue from their respective property tax levies.

Robert Morgan — superintendent of the Delaware County Board of Developmental Disabilities and long an opponent of TIFs — held the meeting.

Attending were heads of area service providers, such as Stephen Hedge, executive director of Delaware-Morrow Mental Health and Recovery Services Board; Bob Horrocks, executive director of the Council for Older Adults; and David Knowlton, operations and finance director of the Delaware General Health District.

Those who criticize TIFs say they limit tax money going to social service agencies.

Municipalities use TIFs to encourage businesses to create new development. A portion of the property tax in a TIF area is used to pay for infrastructure, such as roads, that a new development needs. Delaware County currently has 21 active TIF districts.

When a TIF district is created, government agencies receive taxes at the value the property had when the TIF was created. All additional property tax money provided by the new development goes to infrastructure.

It’s that extra money that the social service agencies want.

Morgan said many TIFs are renewed. “There’s no protection; these may go on forever and the base value is held constant.”

State Rep. Andrew Brenner (R-Delaware) said TIFs can bring beneficial economic growth, but TIFs on property already developed might have a less positive impact.

A TIF in an undeveloped area is “creating more income in the area in general,” he said. A TIF in a developed area, by comparison, “has an impact on value in the longer run on the agencies.”

Powell planner Eric Fischer said TIFs are important for community health and well being, and economic development.

“Our TIF is set up to utilize the TIF (revenue) for infrastructure improvements, which supports a lot of the social service networks. People need functioning roads to drive on and improvements such as traffic signals, sidewalks, ADA (accessible) ramps — things that directly impact people’s mobility,” Fischer said.

“Those are very important. It’s important to have functioning infrastructure for people to get around, for safety, stormwater control, things that benefit residents and businesses. You can’t grow your area if you don’t have the roads or infrastructure in place or if you have critical infrastructure that needs repair.”

Morgan wants the group of service agencies to develop a list of recommendations to send to the Ohio General Assembly to reduce TIFs’ effects on social service revenues.

The group heard from Steven Adams, a master’s degree student in the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at the Ohio State University.

Adams’ thesis suggests agencies with property tax levies will annually lose $31 per TIF for each person they serve over the life of the TIF, which on average is 23 years.

The Delaware County Board of Developmental Disabilities annually serves 1,645.

Brenner said any changes to TIF legislation would result in an outcry from developers and municipalities.