http://www.chicagosuburbannews.com/riverside
TIF spat in Riverside has both sides heated
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By Dan Petrella
Riverside Suburban Life
Mon Apr 02, 2007, 08:58 PM CDT
Riverside, IL - With voters set to go to the polls in less than two weeks to voice their opinions on development in downtown Riverside, the Village Board and a community group exchanged heated words last week over a resolution passed by the board in September.
The dispute centered around a flier circulated by Concerned Citizens for Riverside, a group that publicly opposes the board's proposed tax increment financing district. The group hoped to make residents aware of an agreement made in September between the village and a developer, member Lonnie Sacchi said.
The board passed a resolution at a special meeting Sept. 6, which would allow the village to devote money from the TIF district, if it is approved, to help fund certain costs of development of the Arcade Building, 1 Riverside Road.
The Concerned Citizens' flier states that a village document obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request “details $1,180,471 of our tax dollars being used for the Arcade renovation.— The flier alleges that the proposed TIF district would be “taking money from our schools, library, police and fire departments to subsidize developers.—
“The flier is filled with a lot of misrepresentation,— Village Manager Kathleen Rush said, adding that the “rhetoric— could mislead residents into thinking the board hasn't acted in the village's best interest.
Sacchi bristled at the suggestion information contained in the flier is not accurate.
“Whatever is in (the flier) came from a FOIA request from them,— he said. “What are they saying, that documents are inaccurate?—
A letter signed by trustees Candice Grace and Kevin Smith argues that the flier distorts information found in the documents. The letter states that the resolution and related documents outline which development costs are legally eligible to be reimbursed through TIF funds, which will occur only if the board votes to create the TIF district.
If a TIF district is created, the village will negotiate with the owner of the Arcade Building to help cover some of the development costs, according to the letter.
“The actual maximum rebate amount will be a negotiated percentage of statutorily eligible expenses,— Grace and Smith's letter states. “The resolution does not commit to any specific dollar amount, and it certainly does not say the village will give the Arcade Building $1,180,471.—
Another letter objecting to the Concerned Citizens' flier was also issued last week, signed by Village President Harold Wiaduck and the Village Board.
Regardless of how much the village pays, Sacchi said the developer shouldn't depend on tax dollars to complete its renovation project.
“If for some reason he can't make the deal he believed before would work, he should sell the building to someone else who can,— Sacchi said. “He created the problem, and now he wants to get bailed out.—