On Monday, Sarasota city commissioners will revisit an issue that has important implications for the future: the community redevelopment district, whose key funding source is scheduled to expire in September 2016.
The funding mechanism — known as tax-increment financing — has helped grow the downtown tax base by more than 300 percent since 1986. More recently, some of the revenue was directed to Newtown, where residents hope new investment will spur jobs and revitalization. Realizing those dreams would become exponentially more difficult if the TIF is allowed to expire.