Fort Dodge’s conversation about tax increment financing should begin with a simple question: What would our community look like without it? TIF is an Iowa urban renewal tool that allows communities to reinvest new tax value created in a designated area back into that area. For Fort Dodge, it has been one of the most important tools available to encourage job creation, expand our tax base, and move redevelopment projects from ideas to reality.

That is why the “without TIF” question matters so much. In Fort Dodge, we do not have to imagine what TIF has made possible. We see it every day. Residents may not follow the policy debate around TIF, but they know what it has produced: Kohl’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Starbucks, Dunkin’, Scooter’s, and Corridor Plaza. These are not abstract talking points. They are real investments that expanded options for residents, strengthened our economy, and helped move Fort Dodge forward.

The reason is simple: TIF helps cover costs that otherwise stop projects before they begin. Redeveloping brownfields, blighted properties, and sites with major infrastructure barriers comes with extraordinary expense. In many cases, there is no other practical tool to close that gap. Without TIF, many of these projects would not happen at all.

The same reality applies to site development and infrastructure. The Iowa Crossroads of Global Innovation was made possible because of TIF. Through TIF, Fort Dodge was able to partner with Decker Investments to develop an approximately 120-acre industrial park near First Avenue South and 42nd Street, along with critical street extensions. These are the kinds of investments communities make to prepare sites for business growth and job creation.

TIF is not just about industrial parks or commercial growth. It can also help solve real housing challenges in a community. The housing development near Second Avenue South and U.S. Highway 169 is a good example. That property sat vacant for more than 20 years. Today, it is a thriving neighborhood, and the value created there helps generate funds for low- to moderate-income housing rehabilitation in other parts of Fort Dodge. In other words, one successful project can help support improvements well beyond its own footprint.

If TIF is taken off the table, it becomes much harder to create the shovel-ready land and supporting infrastructure employers expect when deciding where to invest. More importantly, some projects simply would not happen at all. Without TIF, there would be no new developable property for Moeller Furnace & Air or FORCE America, and no Amazon delivery station in Fort Dodge.

The same is true for existing employers looking to grow here. Fort Dodge approved a TIF-backed development agreement with Nestle Purina PetCare for a major plant expansion expected to bring about $175 million in capital improvements and create 50 new jobs. That is exactly the kind of investment we should fight to keep and grow. If Fort Dodge wants to remain competitive, we cannot unilaterally give up one of the few tools communities have to help close financing gaps on projects of this size.

None of this means every TIF proposal is automatically good. It is not. Residents should ask hard questions. The public deserves transparency, accountability, performance standards, and a clear explanation of what the community receives in return. Iowa requires annual urban-renewal reporting, and Fort Dodge files those reports publicly. Accountability is not the enemy of TIF. It is what makes responsible TIF possible.

Gutting TIF would not make Fort Dodge more responsible. It would make us less competitive. It would mean fewer redevelopment projects, fewer cleaned-up sites, fewer infrastructure-ready business locations, and fewer opportunities to add jobs and long-term tax value. That is the real choice in front of us. We do not need careless TIF. We need disciplined, transparent, results-driven TIF because, without it, Fort Dodge would have less of the progress residents already see and less of the growth we still want to achieve.

Fort Dodge is not asking for special treatment. We are asking for the ability to keep using one of the few effective tools available to support redevelopment, attract investment, and strengthen our tax base over time. TIF has helped make real progress possible in our community, and Iowa law already provides the structure needed to hold cities accountable. State legislators should resist the temptation to weaken a tool that communities like ours depend on. Leave TIF alone and let Fort Dodge keep building the future our residents deserve.

Dave Flattery is the mayor of Fort Dodge.