Assistance to downtown building owners, a water main extension and more security cameras would all be paid for with a tax increment financing plan advanced by the Fort Dodge City Council Monday.

The biggest element of the package is $100,000 a year over five years that would go to the Development Corporation of Greater Fort Dodge, a nonprofit organization established in 1982 to promote business growth downtown.

City Manager David Fierke said the local government will work with the development corporation to provide forgivable loans to pay for accessibility, life safety and code compliance upgrades to downtown buildings. He said the money could be used to pay for elevators, egress windows, bathrooms, and any changes needed to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Fierke said an agreement between the development corporation and the city for the forgivable loan program will be presented to the council at its Aug. 25 meeting.

The second biggest component of the tax increment financing package is a maximum amount of $400,000 to pay for extending a water main about a half mile east of the intersection of Fifth Avenue South and 42nd Street to serve potential new development.

Water system improvements are usually financed with revenue from the water system, but Fierke said in this instance, “We want it to be paid for by new development, not the rate-payers.”

The smallest element of the financing package is $94,000 for installing more security cameras throughout downtown.

“They turned out to be very effective and very helpful, so we are continuing to grow that program,” Fierke said.

Some of the money to pay for the cameras will come from an account the city established to help businesses move out of the old Crossroads Mall before it was demolished. Fierke said there is money left over in that account.

Tax increment financing occurs when increased property tax revenue from a designated area is set aside to be reinvested in that area. Often governments will borrow money for a project and then pay off the debt with tax increment financing revenue.

On Monday, the council unanimously approved a resolution that places all three projects in the center city and industrial park urban renewal areas so that tax increment financing can be used. There was no council discussion of the matter.