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If Not TIF, then What?

(38 posts)
  • Started 5 years ago by MikeSedivy
  • Latest reply from Catherine
1 2 3 4

  1. idic5
    Member

    An allowance SEEMS good. But the point I was trying to make was why did Dr Lamberson not ask more incisive questions, something like, off the top of my head,

    I am hearing that revenue to my district will be affected during the next 23 years. Just so I know and can plan for our district 96 future, what exactly are the revenue projections? What are the assumptions of those projections? What is the range of the revenue that we can expect to receive during this time frame? If the TIF goes south, what would we get? If the TIF goes as expected, what would we expect to get? Can we expect to get more revenue? What would have to occur for that to happen?

    Once this TIF proposal is enacted by the village, are we stuck with the 23 year time frame as well as the other terms of the proposal that was voted on? How can it be amended over time?

    What are the possible downsides of the TIF plan for our school district? When I google TIF and schools I see some possible negatives. Please speak on those possible negatives.

    What if the amount of money allocated for kids in the TIF district is exceeded over the life of the TIF? Can that money ever be used by the village? I see that this allowance was implemented in 1999 after TIFs were deployed in Illinois for a while. What events occurred that prompted the Illinois assembly to add this allowance to TIFs? How was the 1.5m (?) arrived at ? Why did they pick that amount for an allowance?

    Can that allowance be ever be used by the village? In general, What are the accounting safeguards of the money going in and out of the TIF?

    Minimally, these kinds of questions could have been for us ignorant in the audience. I'll go on a limb and say that a TIF and schools is at a minimum controversial (they might be perfectly safe for schools).

    The TIF proposal is upsetting the status quo where the Dr has a predictable revenue stream. Am I naive to think that there s/ be a skeptical and critical line of questioning when the status quo is upset? Maybe this was done offline. This was just my impression.

    mike

    Posted Monday Dec 25, 2006 15:54 #

  2. MikeSedivy
    Member

    I assume all of those questions have been asked, but I have no actual knowledge of such. I understand that Dr. Lamberson has experience with TIFs, so he probably understands them better than most of us. I guess my point was that most, if not all, of us on this website are not nearly as close to the issue and facts on the impact to the schools as the Superintendents and School Boards.

    Mike - so I better understand you perspective, are you against re-development of the CBD or is it the TIF form of incentive that you are against? I understand your concern with eminent domain.

    Posted Tuesday Dec 26, 2006 13:47 #

  3. CandiGrace
    Member

    Mike T - Some of those questions would be answered at the Joint Review Board meeting. Others were asked during a meeting that Dr. Lamberson had with Katie Rush and Kane, McKenna. And finally others are part of the TIF statute which Dr. Lamberson would know because of his experience with other TIFS. For example, the set aside for tuition has to be put away first before any funds can be disbursed to another source. Also, the TIF expenditures are audited on a yearly basis by the Joint Review Board.

    I'd also like to say that given my 2 years of long range planning for Dist 96 in the early 90's, the 8 years I spent on the school board including 2 as president when we instituted the current class size policy and flexible boundary changes and then my co-chairing the last Dist 96 referendum campaign, gives the District 96 board some level of comfort that I won't vote yes on anything that will undo the sweat I've put into the schools. And, as a side note, most of the work I did for Dist 96 was after my daughter was out of the district. In fact, when I co-chaired the referendum, she was a freshman in college. I understand in a very deep and fundamental way how important the schools are to our property values, our quality of life and the future of Riverside and could never vote for something that would undo it.

    Posted Tuesday Dec 26, 2006 14:08 #

  4. MikeSedivy
    Member

    Holly - I have done some research on the Illinois Main Street program and there historically has been considerable time spent researching the initiative. The shortcomings appear to be twofold and considerable - 1)it does nothing to address the funding issue and actually places a financial burden on the Village and the business community (similar to a Special Services Area), and 2) it only applies to one street - if Burlington was the chosen street, it wouldn't apply to Quincy or Riverside or any other street in the CBD.

    Thanks for getting me back on track on this thread. If anyone has a different interpretation of the program or knows of any other programs that could address our issues with the CBD, please point me in the right direction.

    Posted Thursday Dec 28, 2006 10:05 #

  5. ChrisHajer
    Member

    Mike, if the Main Street program does not address funding, I don't think that's something we need. I think the question is, how should the improvements / repairs / development be paid for.

    Posted Thursday Dec 28, 2006 10:30 #

  6. MikeSedivy
    Member

    That is my understanding but I will confirm at our EDC meeting on January 4.

    Posted Monday Jan 1, 2007 19:47 #

  7. ChrisHajer
    Member

    Thanks Mike. It sure sounds nice on their website, and something that would be appropriate here:

    http://www.mainstreet.org/

    Happy New Year.

    --Chris

    Posted Monday Jan 1, 2007 20:11 #

  8. Catherine
    Member

    Non-EDC types:

    I know I've brought this up before, at least once if not more, but I have been looking over the finance and budget information provided by the village government or its representatives and I have to ask: what is wrong with the budget, if it were to be fixed would we have enough money; if there is nothing wrong with the budget where is the money to run the village going to come from? I see we have a police and fire expenditure of $4.4Mil per annum, the largest item, and, fire aside, that only pays for 2-3 officers per shift to patrol the whole village. Other items like grass mowing, tree maintenance apparently, and traffic control have to go second, of course, to things like crime and emergency medical response, sewage, and so on.

    When I look at these numbers and the charts of the downslide in the property tax cut of the pie that the village gets in favor of the schools, it's not so big a wonder that some people think we have to cannibilize part of the town to save the rest of it. (And that might be less not-OK if you were not the one being cannibalized, or if the face job did not make the patient uglier than before.)

    Posted Friday Feb 2, 2007 17:25 #

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