The Buchanan City Commission held a first public hearing on the DDA's new TIF plan in late May 2026. A second hearing is scheduled for June 22, after which the commission will take action. The DDA was disbanded approximately 10 years ago; commissioners moved last year to bring it back after recognizing it as a viable tool for addressing downtown property value deterioration.

A new board has been seated. Berrien County Community Development Director Dan Fette has worked with board members over several months to develop the draft TIF plan, which outlines 15 years of projects focused on halting deterioration and promoting growth. Fette described it in public hearings: "Buchanan will be the best funded DDA in the county."

The DDA is sitting on approximately $500,000 in previously accumulated, unused funds — capital that sat idle during the mothball period and is now available for immediate use. Projected annual TIF revenue going forward: $115,000–$120,000. That is a modest operating base, but combined with the $500,000 reserve and the county's technical assistance, it provides a foundation for the district's first years.

Buchanan's city budget for FY2026-27 is projecting a general fund deficit — an important context for the reconstitution. A city with budget pressure that reconstitutes a DDA is signaling that it sees the DDA as a net contributor to the city's fiscal position, not a drain on it.

Watch: June 22 hearing and formal TIF plan adoption — the step that starts the capture clock and authorizes the DDA to begin deploying its accumulated reserve.

Source: Moody on the Market; The Herald Palladium, May 2026.