The Town of Hideout and the Military Installation Development Authority or MIDA are considering a partnership that would place several portions of the town within MIDA’s project area.
Hideout recently updated their general plan, among priorities identified include connecting the community and building green space. MIDA’s goal for the project area is to increase recreational opportunities for military members and their families. Mayor Phil Rubin sees these two goals as aligned.
“When hideout was built it was imagined as basically exclusively residential,” Rubin continued. “There's no public land inside of Hideout today and we want to change that. As the community has grown and we see the need to do that and MIDA brings us the opportunity to do that because with their participation we get a significantly larger portion of tax revenue than we would any other way. So, without raising taxes for residents we get tax revenues that are taken by MIDA and redeployed back at a much higher rate for us to use to do those kind of developments. We’re excited about the opportunity of having a chance to bring some of that green space, bring those trails, bring some of that recreational stuff to the town without adding to the tax load for the residents.”
The portion included in the Hideout area of the MIDA project area would be referred to as the Hideout Zone. As values of the properties in the zone increase 75% of that tax increment increase would be paid to MIDA. The rest of the 25% of tax increment increase would be retained by local taxing entities. The funds MIDA collects would then be used to build infrastructure and other projects that relate to recreation development in the area.
“The tax revenue that we generate through growth in the areas that would be part of the project is exclusively for Hideout use,” Rubin explained. “So, we don't see ourselves competing with Extell. What we're competing with is will the growth that's planned for those spaces happen at a rate that generates revenue back to the town.”
While Hideout gets to decide how money collected from the Hideout zone is spent within the zone, if a project is considered outside the zone it must be approved by MIDA and Hideout.
“It can be spent in both the Hideout zone, the portion of Hideout that would be in the MIDA project, and adjoining areas as long as it aligns with the mission of MIDA,” Rubin said. “So, for example, if we were to build a Park and Ride that wasn't in the Hideout Zone but was accessible to those that might want to use it that are in the MIDA project that would be an acceptable use. If we were to put parks in, connections to trails that are outside of the Hideout Zone in the MIDA project but still available to the public, that would be acceptable use. So, we get a fair bit of flexibility on how we do that.”
Rubin says that being in the MIDA project area ensures that money that would have otherwise been sent to other districts in Wasatch County will be spent on projects that more directly impact Hideout.
“Your total tax bill has money for schools, it has money for special services districts, all those things,” Rubin continued. “MIDA gets all of that and so when they dole it back to us it ends up being a multiplier versus just our pure based tax base. So, because of this arrangement are other districts quote disadvantaged? I guess to some degree. They keep their current tax base. They grow 25% with the growth but the balance of that is what MIDA is taking not the 25% but the 75% and that comes back to the town at a much higher proportion than it would staying outside.”
Rubin adds that the town council has done their due diligence on the project.
“We’ve attacked it nine ways from Sunday,” Rubin explained. “We've had Zions Municipal Finance helping us with this analysis and we’ve dissected the act. It looks like it's going to be a nice thing for Hideout. I mean as far as Hideout goes what we're doing is we're paying thousands of dollars a year as a homeowner to the County of Wasatch and what we get back from a Hideout town perspective is roughly, for the total residency of Hideout, I get roughly $100,000 a year out of our tax bills. That's what I get to run the town with. With MIDA I'm going to get significantly more than that and that's you know that's the exciting part to us.”
The finalized portion of the deal is likely to come before the town council at their next meeting on Thursday.
