OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Tax Increment Finance Board Onboarding and TIF 101 Training – January 15, 2026

City Commission — Thursday, January 15, 2026
BodyBozeman, Montana
SessionCity Commission
DateThursday, January 15, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:10:16

Transcript — Verbatim
1:14

Okay, call the meeting to order.

1:17

Right?

1:18

Do I say anything in particular or is that handed Gow for the other thing?

1:25

Do you have an agenda, Natalie?

1:26

Do you have an agenda in front of you?

1:28

Do I?

1:29

I don't know.

1:29

Okay.

1:29

I'm gonna pull it up for you.

1:31

Okay.

1:32

Great.

1:34

So here's your agenda.

1:36

Okay.

1:36

Um the meat of it doesn't happen until a little bit lower down, but you can s you can read from here to go through the different items.

1:43

So you just called it to order.

1:45

Great.

1:45

So next on next thing you would do it would be let her be ask for disclosures.

1:50

All right.

1:50

Do we have any disclosures?

1:54

Okay.

1:54

Not surprising since you're no business yet.

1:59

And do we have any changes to the agenda?

2:01

No, not at the side.

2:02

Great.

2:03

And now do we have public comments or non-agenda items failing within the purview and jurisdiction of the board?

2:09

Falling, not failing.

2:14

Any public comment online?

2:18

And then I think and then I think if no one comes to the podium, then we ask if there's anyone online, and Alex tells us.

2:27

Is there anyone online?

2:29

Um remind me of your name.

2:31

My name's Natalie Van Diesen.

2:33

Van Dusan?

2:34

Yes.

2:35

Um Chair Van Dusen, there is no one online waiting to make public comment.

2:39

Great.

2:40

Mary Doug?

2:42

No.

2:43

Okay.

2:45

Okay, great.

2:46

Um, okay, so just to go down a little bit.

2:49

So Natalie, now you're here at E.

2:51

FYI discussion where most of the activity is going to take place for today's meeting.

2:57

Great.

2:57

So should we get started with E1 Tax Increment Finance Board onboarding?

3:04

That's obvious.

3:10

Yes, Chair Van Newson.

3:12

Alex Newby will appear at the diet.

3:23

So um, why don't we take a moment before I um launch into this and just starting right here, David, let's just introduce ourselves so that we all know who one another are.

3:37

Um so I'm I'm David Fine.

3:39

I'm the rural program manager for the city.

3:41

Um the past four years I've also had housing, but um but now housing is still an account development, but I'll be personally heading up with uh the affordable housing aspects.

3:50

Um that's Brian Dyer, uh who's here earlier.

3:54

Um for almost 13 years and uh here.

4:01

So I I am your principal staffer for this board.

4:06

I'm Lori Madsen.

4:08

And I'm first meeting on the board.

4:14

Well Susan Frazier, I live in the midtown district, served on midtown on the Legister.

4:27

Just a process note.

4:28

You do need to turn your mic on because otherwise there is a live stream of this meeting and no one will hear you.

4:38

Hi, I'm Natalie Van Diesen.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Board Operations█████████████████████████25%
Tax Increment Financing███████████████████████23%
Procedural████████████████████20%
Urban Redevelopment█████████████████17%
Economic Development██████████10%
Zoning Code██2%
Public Engagement██2%
Budget Equity Analysis█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Tax Increment Finance Board Onboarding and TIF 101 Training – January 15, 2026

The newly formed Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Advisory Board held its first meeting on January 15, 2026, at 7:00 PM. The session focused on board member introductions, a review of board norms and procedures presented by Deputy City Clerk Alex Newby, and a comprehensive TIF 101 presentation led by Rural Program Manager David Fine. No public comments were received, and no action items were voted on. The board’s primary role is to advise the City Commission on five tax increment districts: Midtown, Northeast, South Bozeman Technology District, North Park, and Polyard.

Discussion Items

  • Board Member Introductions and Norms: Chair Natalie Van Diesen led introductions. Board members included David Fine (staff), Brian Dyer, Lori Madsen, Susan Frazier, Julian (last name not given), Scott McFarland (County Commission), Britt Fontenot (Economic Development Director), Mary Matson Bateson, and Alex Newby. Alex Newby reviewed board norms, including decorum, one-body-one-voice rule, attendance expectations, remote participation procedures, and the requirement that boards do not direct staff. The board will follow Robert’s Rules of Order (loosely) and Resolution 5323.

  • Tax Increment Finance (TIF) 101 Presentation: David Fine presented an overview of TIF mechanisms. He explained that Bozeman has six TIF districts; the downtown district operates separately until 2032, while the board advises on five others. TIF is a tax diversion, not a new tax, used to address infrastructure deficiencies and blight. Funds are spent within districts on eligible costs per state law (MCA 7-15-4288). Recent projects include Midtown streetscape, South Bozeman Innovation Campus, Northeast District road reconstruction, and a sewer upgrade on Mendonhall. David noted that the board will soon engage in work plan and budget development for the districts, with the next three meetings dedicated to that effort. He also discussed the use of “but-for” analyses to ensure TIF assistance is necessary and the importance of private investment ratios.

  • Future Work and Project Pipeline: David mentioned one pending TIF application from Altos Photonics, a job-creating project in the Northeast District. He noted that development activity has slowed due to high interest rates and construction costs, but some projects are still being planned. Chair Van Diesen emphasized efficient meetings (targeting 1.5 hours) and collaborative discussions. The next regular meeting is scheduled for the third Thursday of February, with a potential special meeting in March if needed due to spring break.

Key Outcomes

  • No votes or formal decisions were taken. The meeting was informational and procedural, setting the stage for future work plan and budget discussions.
  • The board received a scheduling note: the March regular meeting may conflict with spring break; a special meeting will be arranged if necessary.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, call the meeting to order. Right? Do I say anything in particular or is that handed Gow for the other thing? Do you have an agenda, Natalie? Do you have an agenda in front of you? Do I? I don't know. Okay. I'm gonna pull it up for you. Okay. Great. So here's your agenda. Okay. Um the meat of it doesn't happen until a little bit lower down, but you can s you can read from here to go through the different items. So you just called it to order. Great. So next on next thing you would do it would be let her be ask for disclosures. All right. Do we have any disclosures? Okay. Not surprising since you're no business yet. And do we have any changes to the agenda? No, not at the side. Great. And now do we have public comments or non-agenda items failing within the purview and jurisdiction of the board? Falling, not failing. Any public comment online? And then I think and then I think if no one comes to the podium, then we ask if there's anyone online, and Alex tells us. Is there anyone online? Um remind me of your name. My name's Natalie Van Diesen. Van Dusan? Yes. Um Chair Van Dusen, there is no one online waiting to make public comment. Great. Mary Doug? No. Okay. Okay, great. Um, okay, so just to go down a little bit. So Natalie, now you're here at E. FYI discussion where most of the activity is going to take place for today's meeting. Great. So should we get started with E1 Tax Increment Finance Board onboarding? That's obvious. Yes, Chair Van Newson. Alex Newby will appear at the diet. So um, why don't we take a moment before I um launch into this and just starting right here, David, let's just introduce ourselves so that we all know who one another are. Um so I'm I'm David Fine. I'm the rural program manager for the city.

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