Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


The Northfield Township Downtown Development Authority has been dissolved.

At a recent Board of Trustees meeting, an ordinance was passed dissolving the DDA effective July 31st by a 4-2 vote. One member was absent.

The Township said the decision comes after a long journey over the past several years and many hours spent analyzing the current state of the DDA.

Funding for the DDA was collected through the Tax Increment Finance Plan (TIF). Due to slumps in the economy over the past decade, the tax increment collected by the DDA was minimal and restricted what the DDA was able to accomplish. 2023 would have been the first year in many that the DDA would have collected tax increment funds.

A separate ordinance was passed to abolish the TIF plan. Any remaining DDA funds were to revert proportionately back to the respective taxing bodies that were subject to tax increment financing capture.

If the DDA would have been allowed to continue, there were a number of issues that needed to be addressed, which are summarized in an analysis provided to the board by the Township Manager. A link to that analysis is provided.

The Township said the board and residents are grateful to the DDA for all of the hard work put in over the past 20 years – stating their efforts “have not gone unnoticed nor unappreciated”.

The Board and Township Manager say they’ll continue to follow-up on alternative, community-driven business and economic development opportunities and continue working to support local businesses.