CDFA's Advanced Tax Increment Finance WebCourse builds upon CDFA's Intro TIF Course by focusing more concretely on structuring the deal and developing short- and long-term policies. You will also learn about performance monitoring, feasibility analysis and using TIF in conjunction with other development finance tools.
The Advanced Tax Increment Finance WebCourse is presented via the web over three days and includes lecture and presentations from speakers throughout the country. During the WebCourse, attendees can raise their hands, ask questions, comment on presentations and take interactive polls throughout the sessions. CDFA's Course Advisor moderates the WebCourse to ensure speaker and participant interaction throughout.
Participants must have access to a computer and phone to attend the WebCourse. Participants receive instructions for logging into the WebCourse in a follow-up email after registering. Course materials are mailed to participants approximately one week before the course.
This course qualifies for the CDFA Training Institute's Development Finance Certified Professional (DFCP) Program. Start down the road to personal and professional advancement today.
By attending, you will:
- Gain a greater understanding of the complexity of TIF projects
- Break down and evaluate complex TIF concepts and project pro-formas
- Review common components of model state TIF statutes
- Examine critical TIF public policy elements for ensuring maximum program success
- Understand the typical challenges faced when managing and monitoring active TIF districts
- Discuss your TIF projects with industry experts
- Receive a copy of CDFA's Advanced Tax Increment Finance Reference Guide
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You will learn through:
- Real life case studies
- Interactive, small group exercises
- Presentations from industry experts
- A comprehensive course book
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Topics covered include:
- Model Policies, Guidelines & Procedures
- Understanding Your TIF Statute
- TIF Process From A to Z
- Assessing Project Feasibility
- Performance Monitoring
- Managing Active TIF Districts
- Maximizing TIF By Combining Tools
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Who should attend?
- Bond issuers
- Economic development professionals
- Community development professionals
- Broker, dealers and underwriters
- Elected officials
- Government and nonprofit finance officers
- Corporate trustees
- Legal counsel
- Underwriters
- Commercial bankers
- Accountants
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Course Advisor:
Tony Q. Smith serves as the Council's Tax Increment Finance Course Advisor providing expertise, leadership and direction for CDFA's Training Institute. Smith's' vast experience in project and real estate finance provides a deep knowledge-base to help guide CDFA's educational elements related to tax increment finance.
Tony Q. Smith, AICP is a Practice Leader with S. B. Friedman & Company, a development advisory firm based in Chicago’s Loop. Tony is a real estate analyst with experience in public/private deal structuring, negotiations, tax increment financing (TIF) analysis, New Markets Tax Credits, and area revitalization strategies. He has assisted municipalities such as the City of Chicago, City of Milwaukee, and suburban Illinois communities in creating TIF districts, negotiating TIF contributions to public/private deals, and evaluating TIF feasibility for a range of front funding instruments.
On behalf of the City of Chicago, he also led the process of successfully applying for a $100 million allocation of New Markets Tax Credits in the 2006 federal competitive round. He is currently assisting the City in implementing its New Markets program. Tony holds a Master’s in City Planning, a Post-Master’s Certificate for study in Transportation and Infrastructure Planning, and a B.A. in Urban Studies and Environmental Studies, all from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the American Planning Association, the Urban Land Institute, and the Congress for the New Urbanism.
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The following is the preliminary agenda for this course. This agenda will be updated and modified slightly to accommodate speakers and content. However, the main areas of content as outlined in this agenda will be covered. All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
| 12:00 – 12:30 pm | Welcome & Overview |
| 12:30 – 1:00 pm | TIF Overview |
Development finance professionals must have a solid understanding of how TIF works in order to build a successful toolbox of financing programs. Even though TIF has become one of the nation’s most popular development finance tools, it is used in a variety ways from state to state. We’ll start the day by reviewing the basics of TIF and establishing a baseline of how communities should use this tool to achieve their economic development objectives.
| 1:10 – 2:15 pm | Understanding Your TIF Statute |
Understanding your state’s TIF statute is essential to mastering the use of TIF as an economic development finance tool. We’ll look at common components of model TIF statutes from a variety of states. In addition, we’ll discuss issues related to the political process and recommended practices for formulating or revising a TIF statute.
| 2:15 – 3:30 pm | Model Policies, Guidelines & Procedures |
Ideally, TIF policies should be proactive but flexible. This session will cover the process of establishing a sound TIF policy and typical elements of effective guidelines and procedures. We’ll discuss what should and shouldn’t be included in TIF guidelines, consequences of not following guidelines, and issues related to transparency, due diligence and accountability.
| 3:40 – 5:00 pm | TIF Case Study |
The speakers will focus on a single TIF-funded project to illustrate many of the major concepts covered in the WebCourse. This will include such elements as a) the establishment of the district; b) why the project needed TIF; c) how the TIF assistance was applied for and public reviewed; d) deal structuring and feasibility considerations; and e) other lessons learned.
| 12:00 – 1:20 pm | TIF Feasibility Analysis and Underwriting |
This session will cover three distinct but related elements of project feasibility and underwriting: a) Reviewing real estate market feasibility of a proposed TIF-funded project; b) Developing sound, conservative TIF revenue projections for use in sizing and structuring the transaction; and c) Assessment of the project “financing gap” to determine how much TIF is needed, and what deal structure is most appropriate. Speakers will discuss the technical issues of modeling TIF revenue and pro forma-based gap analysis.
| 1:30 – 3:00 pm | TIF and the Project’s “Capital Stack” |
This session will focus on how TIF can fit into the overall financing structure of a project. Topics will include up-front versus “back ended” TIF funding arrangements, and the various methods of packaging TIF funding, including bonds, notes, and “pay as you go.” This session will wrap up with an overview of term sheets and development agreements—the key documents defining the TIF deal.
| 3:00 – 3:50 pm | Bonding with TIF |
Bonds are one of the most important methods by which TIF funds are made available to fund public and private improvements. This session will focus on the major types of TIF bonds, outline key considerations in successful TIF bond issuance, discuss bond market dynamics, and describe how the feasibility of TIF bonds can be enhanced by other tools such as backup special assessments.
| 4:00 – 5:00 pm | Performance Monitoring & Managing Active TIF Districts |
It is important to understand the typical challenges faced when managing and monitoring active TIF districts. This session will address what you should expect once a TIF deal has been completed and why it is critical to maintain communications with bond investors and the community.
The course will take place on the web through GoToWebinar, an online distance learning software. The course will meet each day from September 20-21, 2012 from 12:00-5:00 pm (EDT). Participants must have access to a computer and phone to attend the WebCourse. Participants receive instructions for logging into the WebCourse in a follow-up email after registering. Course materials are mailed to participants approximately one week before the course.
This course qualifies for the CDFA Training Institute's Development Finance Certified Professional (DFCP) Program. Start down the road to personal and professional advancement today.
Register before August 24, 2012 for Early-Bird Rates.
| Early-Bird Registration | Standard Registration |
| Member | $550.00 | $600.00 |
| Non-Member | $675.00 | $725.00 |
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