Strategies

  • Expand or create workforce housing fund to provide loans or grants for the creation of housing that is affordable to residents of DeForest.
  • Adopt policies that prioritize the use of Tax Increment Funding to create more housing that is affordable to the workforce, families and seniors.
    • Tax Incremental Financing (TIF). TIF is a method of financing real-estate development costs by using the additional property taxes paid as a result of development in a specific area to pay for part of the development costs.
  • Expand the use of Community Land Banks and Village purchase of land for housing.
  • Use a statutory 1 year extension of Tax Incremental Districts to help fund affordable/workforce housing.
    • These districts have a set time period that funds can be used for projects. The State of Wisconsin has recognized that there is a housing shortage and has allowed municipalities to extend that time period by one year to help fund housing development.
  • Create loan funds for home renovations, specifically focused on aging-in-place and ADA modifications for seniors.

Suggestions and Comments

We welcome your ideas and suggestions on funding strategies to support our housing plan—please share your thoughts on our open comment wall!