LaGrange City Council is urging city voters to approve the use of tax allocation districts for the city and county, which may help the area look more appealing to businesses looking to set up shop in Troup County.

With early voting already started, city officials want to make sure residents know what they’re getting into, even if the ballot jargon is difficult to understand.

“I think that there are lots of benefits,” Councilman Jim Thornton said Tuesday. “This will enable retail development that probably would not come here or would not come here as quickly.”

Taking depressed areas of the city or areas of the city already served by sewers, council can allow developers to float a bond to pay for infrastructure associated with their development. As the property value increases, that incremental increase will go toward retiring the bond.

There aren’t any cons, Mayor Jeff Lukken said. Residents wouldn’t have to worry about increasing taxes associated with the bond, and the city wouldn’t have to worry about risks associated with the bond.

“Only the investors who buy the bond would have to worry if the bonds failed,” Lukken said.

TADs also help make the city and county a little more appealing to retailers, which officials would love to see more of in the area.

Retail groups may feel more pressure to locate to nearby areas such as Columbus, Newnan and Auburn, Ala., because of the growth already associated with those areas.

“We’re behind in the retail aspect of community growth,” Lukken said. “The city of LaGrange and Troup County just don’t have that same explosion of retail we were hoping for.”

Approving the districts for use by city officials, including Hogansville, could help sway that growth toward Troup County. West Point already has approved the use of TADs.

To put the ordinance to work, city voters must give their approval for both the city and county.

Due to changes in the voting locations, residents who cast ballots at Gardner Newnan Middle School can vote there for the city ordinance and at Hoofers Restaurant on Hogansville Road for the county ordinance.

“It’s the only one that’s messed up,” City Manager Tom Hall said.

In the end, the use of TADs may give more retail options and jobs to the county and city landscapes, Lukken said, as well as give officials a competitive edge in the local race for development.

“What it does, it puts a tool in our chest,” he said. “It’s just like having a set of matches when you’re out camping.”

Trey Wood can be reached at twood @ lagrangenews. com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 228.