City council renews housing tax abatement program for another year

The Decorah City Council on Monday night unanimously voted in favor of renewing the city's residential housing tax abatement program for 2016.

City Manager Chad Bird told city council members the tax abatement program led to 18 new single family home or condo constructions with a total value of $5.8 million and to nine housing improvement projects with a total value of $500,000.  That means the program has added $6.3 million in new property valuation.

Bird told city council members he couldn't say whether all of the construction was because of the tax abatement program, "but something happened."  He says the increase in housing projects has been "pretty substantial."