In Oregon, urban renewal agencies receive most of their revenues through a tax increment financing mechanism.  Urban renewal agencies can be approved by counties or cities with the object of eliminating blight within an area.   Urban renewal agencies do not have the authority to impose taxes, but they do get a portion of the property tax revenue that would otherwise have gone to taxing districts if the agency did not exist.  When an urban renewal plan area is created (plan areas are created and administered by UR agencies), the assessed value of the property, within the area’s boundaries, is frozen at the amount calculated from the most recently certified tax roll prior to the plan’s approval.  The agency then raises revenue in subsequent years from any value growth above the frozen amount; this value growth is referred to as the excess value.

Urban renewal agencies that have plans adopted before December 1996, can also impose special levies.

Division of tax revenue is calculated by splitting local government property taxes between the local governments that levied the taxes and the urban renewal agency. The split is recalculated each year based on value growth within the plan area.

Both the division of tax and urban renewal special levy amounts are subject to constitutional tax limitations (Article XI, section 11b of the Oregon Constitution).

More information regarding urban renewal is available at
http://www.oregon.gov/DOR/forms/FormsPubs/urban-renewal-circular_504-623.pdf