Malaga TIF debate intensifies as hearings near

WENATCHEE — With four public briefings scheduled to occur  between Nov 17–25, the debate over a proposed Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district in Malaga sharpened last Tuesday morning as speakers split between urging commissioners to drop the plan and pressing them to protect fire service funding while they weigh mitigation.

The discussion came during the Chelan-Douglas Regional Port Authority’s Nov. 12 meeting at the Confluence Technology Center, where Port Commissioner Jim Huffman, president of the board, confirmed that formal TIF hearings are scheduled for Nov. 17, 18, 24, and 25. The board is expected to decide on Dec. 9 whether to move forward with the district.

Buell Hawkins, a former Chelan County Commissioner and longtime supporter of the Port’s joint-county structure, said the process appears preordained. “Listening to you today and talking about what your intentions are to go forward with the TIF, it seems like you’ve already made up your mind,” Hawkins said. He urged the Port to host balanced presentations with input from county commissioners, the Regional Fire Authority, and other junior taxing districts “so that the public will have the opportunity to hear both sides of the story.”

Mike Burnett, retired Wenatchee Valley Fire Chief, focused on maintaining service levels in Malaga. “With Microsoft out there, and that guaranteed funding that [Chief] Brett has put in place, and the planned revenue from Microsoft and the other developments, [that] has allowed him to open up that station again and staff it — 50 percent paid by the Microsoft development,” Burnett said. “It’s a huge impact [if] that funding is lost.”

Pete Rigelman, president of the Wenatchee Valley Firefighters Union, called the TIF “just a tax” under the Department of Revenue’s recent interpretation and urged the Port to seek voter approval directly if it believes the project is necessary. “If this economic development is that important, run an excise levy and ask the taxpayers directly if they want to support it,” he said.

Huffman closed the public comment period by emphasizing that no decision would come before the December meeting. “We’ll have hearings coming up, and we’ll fully describe and lay out all the plans relative to the TIF,” he said.

Under state law, TIF districts allow local governments to capture the increase in property tax revenue generated by new development within a defined area and reinvest it in infrastructure improvements.

In late July, the Chelan County Board of Commissioners enacted a temporary moratorium on new TIFs in unincorporated areas after the Department of Revenue clarified that such districts redirect funds from junior taxing districts rather than adding new revenue. That interpretation has since deepened local divisions over the proposed Malaga TIF, pitting Port economic development goals against concerns about stable funding for fire, emergency, and public safety services.

In a lawsuit designed to establish an injunction against the moratorium, the Chelan Port met the County in court earlier this month, where Judge Brian Huber ruled in favor of the injunction, allowing the TIF to go forward.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media