The Floyd County Commission voted 3-1 Tuesday to back the tax-break application submitted by Ledbetter Properties LLC for the Riverwalk retail project on the corner of Turner McCall Boulevard and Riverside Parkway.

That means the increase in property tax revenue stemming from new development on the land can be used to pay part of the development costs. The tax allocation district (TAD) funding mechanism is aimed at encouraging redevelopment of blighted properties.

According to the Floyd County tax office, the Riverwalk development added about $2.1 million to the assessed value of the land, which was assessed at $251,212 in 2008.

County Manager Kevin Poe said annual property taxes went up $68,811, and that’s the part of the tax bill the board agreed to dedicate. The difference in taxes from the 2008 base year will be used for the annual debt service on a TAD-backed loan capped at $571,610.

The Rome City Commission — which agreed last month to chip in its share of the increased property taxes — will be applying for the loan to pay Ledbetter’s site preparation costs.

An intergovernmental agreement between the two commissions still has to be hammered out before the end of the year. County Attorney Tommy Manning said the county would have no financial obligation other than contributing the incremental tax increase for a maximum of 15 years.

Commissioner Irwin Bagwell voted against the TAD resolution, saying most of the expected environmental problems at the former landfill site did not materialize.

“In my mind, the property would have been developed anyway,” he said.

But Commissioner Garry Fricks said the property was sitting empty in a prime location because developers were unwilling to take the risk.

He also pointed to estimates that the development including Olive Garden, Las Palmas, Starbucks and retail shops created 205 jobs and generated more than $200,000 in local sales tax revenue this year.

“This is one of those projects we would have been short-sighted if we didn’t support,” Fricks said, referring to an informal promise by the board in December 2007 to participate in the TAD funding.

Commissioner Chad Whitefield was at an out-of-town meeting, but said later he would have cast his vote in favor of the resolution.

“Based on the fact that there was a

commitment made on the front end, I felt the county had an obligation,” he said.

In other actions Tuesday, the board:

Approved a resolution imploring the state to expedite the widening of Ga. 140 between Interstate 75 and U.S. 27.

Poe said Rome, Chattooga County, Bartow County, Adairsville and their local chambers of commerce are also joining the effort to convince Gov. Sonny Perdue and other officials that the route is a key truck and transportation corridor for Northwest Georgia.

Took no action on a bid to provide fitness equipment for the new North Floyd Park recreation center.

Commissioners voiced safety and budgetary concerns, and asked Fricks to talk with the Rome-Floyd Parks and Recreation Authority about focusing first on basic fixtures. The board previously rejected bids for a climbing wall at the center.