Wood River Approves Feasibility Study For New TIF District

Wood River City Council Meeting

WOOD RIVER – Wood River officials are exploring ways to encourage development in a mostly vacant section of the city.

City Council members approved two items related to the establishment of a new Tax Increment Finance (TIF) district on Aug. 17, 2026. These include a feasibility study for the proposed TIF 4 area and an agreement with PGAV planners to determine whether any or all of the area would be eligible under the TIF Act.

The resolutions indicate Wood River city staff will conduct the feasibility study at no cost to the city, while the agreement with PGAV totals $34,500.

The boundaries of the city’s potential new TIF district are “not precisely defined at this time,” according to the first resolution. However, the general area includes the northeast section of town, surrounding the intersection of Illinois 255 and 111 as well as the nearby Walmart.

Councilman Bill Dettmers asked how development in the new district would be funded if established. City Manager Steve Palen said developers would be reimbursed through “increment-based” agreements instead of being paid in advance.

“This is an inducement resolution which allows [developers] to expend monies on soft costs – no construction or anything like that – but would remain eligible once the TIF is implemented,” Palen said.

In a TIF district, the amount of property taxes collected from homes and businesses is capped at a certain amount. Any tax revenues generated over that amount are put then into a designated fund to finance development projects within the district.

A full recording of the Aug. 17, 2026 Wood River City Council meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.

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