During Tuesday’s legislative session, Manhattan City Commissioners discussed the implementation of a Rural Housing Incentive District program.
An RHID captures incremental gain in property taxes for a housing development project which can be used to reimburse the project’s infrastructure costs.
Director of Community Development Stephanie Peterson,
The board agreed that there is a need for affordable housing that they would like to address, but City Commissioner Usha Reddi voiced concerns that an RHID could impact the city’s ability to recuperate the money spent with a cap on a home’s value.
Deputy City Manager Jason Hilgers also emphasized to commissioners that there are risks associated with the RHID’s reliance on future property taxes.
City Commissioner Wynn Butler suggested utilizing the economic development tax to help mitigate these risks.
A majority of the board feels an RHID could be beneficial, but they would like to see more examples of this program’s impact in similar communities and possible development plans that could be utilized in one of the districts.
