What is a TID?
What is a TID?
As leaders across the country call for greater innovation and accelerated construction schedules, the TID is proving the possibilities for better government. The TID drives the responsibility for transportation improvements to the local level and serves a group of local governments collaborating to achieve common transportation goals.
As the name implies, a TID is a "district," a geographic area organized for the purpose of improving the existing road system. The TID does not represent a single city, nor is it a large government agency.
In fostering cooperation among local governments, the TID increases the impact and effectiveness of local transportation planning and funding. The cooperative structure of the TID allows Butler County communities to accomplish more together than they would if they acted alone.
State & National Model
Limited state and federal funding mandated the search for alternatives for building and improving roads. In response to increasing demands for such alternatives, the Transportation Improvement District Program was authorized by the Ohio General Assembly in June 1993 from legislation sponsored by former State Rep. Mike Fox. Butler County's TID was formed by the Butler County Commissioners in January of the following year.
Originally established as a demonstration project to test the TID concept, our TID was the first in Ohio. It exceeded expectations, and state law was changed in 1995 to allow all counties in Ohio to establish their own TIDs.
As a pioneer in this better approach to road building, the Butler County TID is also a national model. We were the first organization in the United States to receive funds from Ohio's State Infrastructure Bank (SIB). The SIB system, now in place across the state, provides loans for local transportation projects.
Building Consensus
The TID is not empowered to act independently and cannot finance road improvements alone. Because of this the TID brings all interested parties to the table. This presents an opportunity for the best possible decisions to be made at the local level. The TID ensures that there is consensus among all interested parties and that those who benefit also contribute their fair share.
The TID is run like a business with the profit returned to the local communities. The communities we serve are the stakeholders, and their citizens are our customers.
While TIDs leverage funds from federal, state, and local sources, the ultimate decision-making power resides with local units of government, which provide representatives to the TID board.
Our board consists of members appointed by your elected officials from Butler County; the cities of Hamilton and Fairfield; and Fairfield, West Chester and Liberty townships. The member communities ask us to solve road problems for you.
The TID program is not designed to create another permanent bureaucracy; therefore, the Butler County TID exists solely to accomplish defined road improvements. Operated with a limited staff, the TID achieves its goals through the use of qualified consultants and contractors. The overall size of the TID is kept intentionally lean in order to prevent procedural delays and unnecessary costs.
Who pays for our projects?
The Butler County TID represents a new method of financing needed improvements to our infrastructure. Beyond the substantial funding support from state and federal sources, the TID initiates innovative funding measures to maximize all available resources and to get the roads built now, not later.
Economic activities that benefit from infrastructure development can be tapped to help finance the improvements themselves. Communities, local governments, and private businesses all may help to finance the construction of road improvements. Those who will benefit most from the road improvements help to achieve them.
Will my taxes be raised to help support the TID or its projects?
The TID cannot raise your taxes. While the TID represents new, alternative financing of road improvements, the TID is not authorized to raise taxes. Serving at the discretion of its member communities, the TID cannot act alone. And, it certainly has no authority and no interest in increasing taxes. Instead, a central goal of the Butler County TID is finding innovative and alternative funding for road improvements.
Better, Faster, Cheaper
Unique from traditional transportation agencies, the TID accomplishes projects better, cheaper, and faster.
Better: Building Consensus
With the oversight of several state and federal agencies, including the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), the TID serves Butler County, two cities, and three townships. For a project to occur in one political subdivision, there must be a consensus that exemplifies intergovernmental coordination. Because the TID is local, it is more responsive and responsible to community concerns.
We don't have a state or federal bureaucracy to navigate and can react as we see fit to meet specific, local needs. Investment in transportation lays the foundation for economic growth. We make the investment in local projects that may or may not have ever been considered by state or federal authorities.
Faster: Paper to Pavement
Created to cut through bureaucracies that cause lengthy delays, the TID accelerates the development of road construction through concurrent design and engineering and expedited construction schedules. Carrying out several tasks on a project concurrently means faster completion at a lower cost.
Doing It Cheaper
Construction costs rise at a rate of two percent to three percent each year. Because we accelerated the schedule for the Michael A. Fox Highway and shaved four to five years off traditional schedules, we are saved $8 to $10 million on the cost of the highway - a $158 million project.