The New Iberia City Council will discuss activating a long-dormant TIF district to raise money for business-attracting infrastructure.
On tonight’s agenda is a resolution that would start the process to activate the district, which has been authorize for about 10 years, said Mayor Freddie Decourt. The plan is to approve the activation this month, with tax collection to begin in January.
The TIF would levy a sales tax and hotel occupancy task in the district, which is located in Highway 14 Economic Development District No. 1.
“It’s all about growth,” Decourt explains. “It’s about having money in the district to spend on infrastructure. This will give us money to develop some of the vacant land in areas where our community is set up to grow.”
The tax proceeds can pay for drainage, roads and other infrastructure that will make the area more attractive to new business, he said.
“We’ve got to get new business here,” he said. “New businesses bring new jobs, opportunities, taxes and the right businesses can bring an improved quality of life. This is an opportunity to attract something we don’t have in town now, for our citizens. That’s the point.”
