MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Kim Rueben, formerly a senior advisor, Fiscal Systems at the Lincoln Institute,  said some cities will look to Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to build transit stops, capturing the increased value around the station and dedicating it to paying off bonds that funded the transit extension.

She said some areas are looking at a series of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) to fund some capital costs, but it may be difficult to convince property owners to the additional self-taxing that comes via a BID, as those may be downtown businesses already hurting from the shift to remote work and hybrid work from home.