What exactly is tax increment financing and how does it work? A special City Council meeting has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday evening to hear an attorney and an economic developer explain how TIF works, especially that of the Stoneybrooke TIF district in south Chillicothe.

Chillicothe economic developer Terry Rumery and former city attorney Robert Cowherd, who is currently representing a company wanting to build a new hotel in the Stoneybrooke TIF district, will explain details of the Stoneybrooke TIF district. The district currently includes Lowe’s, BTC Bank and Applebee’s. Construction is nearly complete on a fitness center and a Quiznos restaurant.

“A couple of city council members who were not here when the TIF was passed asked for an explanation of how TIF works,” said City Administrator Dean Brookshier. Specifically, Rumery and Cowherd will explain how the TIF was established, where it is at this point and a lot of the “legalisms” as to how TIF functions.

Through TIF structures, sales taxes and property taxes are generated by the businesses located in the TIFs to pay off the bonds which were used to develop the district as well as any infrastructure improvements, Brookshier said.

The meeting will be at 6 p.m. in the conference room at City Hall and is open to the public. An executive session, closed to the public, may be held following the TIF discussions.