Mobile Weighs Three New TIF Districts

Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis proposes three tax increment financing districts, but council members have put the decision on hold.

Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in City Hall

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Mobile Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis has proposed three new tax increment financing (TIF) districts covering midtown along I-65, Tillmans Corner, and the waterfront. Council members have put the decision on hold after Mobile County Commissioner Randall Dueitt raised concerns.

Why it matters

The mayor says the TIFs are intended to address commercial blight and attract developers to struggling areas, where he says most commercial properties along the midtown I-65 corridor are declining in value. Adding the proposed districts would bring 30% of the city's property tax value into a TIF.

A new state law effective October 1 raised the share of Mobile's property tax base eligible for TIFs to as much as 50%, compared with just under 10% of the city currently in an existing TIF. The mayor estimates roughly $6 million for the I-65 district and $6 million to $10 million for each other district over five years, though these are projections and the council has not yet acted.

The players

Spiro Cheriogotis

Mayor of Mobile, Alabama, who proposed the three new TIF districts and says they are meant to revitalize commercial corridors suffering from blight.

Randall Dueitt

Mobile County Commissioner who raised concerns about the proposed TIFs and asked council members to delay calling for a public hearing.

Ben Reynolds

Mobile City Councilman who has proposed a separate, smaller TIF district for Tillmans Corner.

The details

Under the proposal, property tax assessments in each district are frozen, so money collected today continues to flow to the same recipients. If property values rise, the extra revenue above today's level goes into a TIF fund for projects within that district, such as new sidewalks and a possible new police headquarters. Councilman Ben Reynolds has separately proposed a smaller TIF for Tillmans Corner.

October 1: New state law raising the TIF property base share took effect.
October 14: Mobile County Commissioner Randall Dueitt raised concerns at a precouncil meeting and asked council members to hold off on calling for a public hearing.
The following week: Council members put the decision on hold until at least this date.

Political Context

The proposals depend on the new Alabama law that lifted the cap on the share of Mobile's property tax base that can be placed in TIFs to as much as 50%, up from a far smaller existing footprint. Critics on the county side have focused on whether the districts should proceed before public hearings are held.

If approved, the districts would freeze current property tax assessments in each zone while redirecting future growth in revenue to local projects. Residents in the midtown, Tillmans Corner, and waterfront areas would see that money shifted into district-specific improvements rather than general city budgets.

The takeaway

Property tax increment districts shift future local revenue from general use into targeted development, so the outcome will depend on how much growth the districts actually generate. Watching the council's public-hearing decision will show how the plan moves forward.