Here are facts obtained recently from the DeKalb Park District about its agreements with the City of DeKalb:
Once upon a time, the Park District would submit requests to the City for reimbursements of Tax Increment Financing (TIF)-eligible expenses incurred on a project-by-project basis. The projects had to occur within TIF districts and there was no guarantee of reimbursement.
In 2003, an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) was signed by the City and DPD that allowed for up to $150,000 in annual reimbursements out of the TIF fund for capital projects in the parks system. Once again, the expenses had to occur within TIF district boundaries, but at least DPD could budget for them with confidence.
One comment
Comment by Ivan Krpan on January 21, 2010 at 1:00 pm
When you look at these numbers can you imagine how many more dollars would have gone to the rightful taxing bodies?
If those taxing bodies would have received all of these dollars over the last 20 plus years how much lower our taxes would be within all of those taxing bodies?
With the many different taxing bodies giving up to in most cases 50% of any increases they received from the Agreement date these taxing bodies have had to increase taxes and user fees everywhere else they could to make up for the dollars that went to TIF. Even the City of DeKalb’s general fund would have had more operating dollars in it which could have been used to pay off some of the pension and benefits debt that we have now seen climb to $29.5 million.
All of these taxing bodies have worked together to make sure that TIF receives these dollars for the benefit of redoing the downtown and many other pet projects. Yes now we see work going on downtown but why did nothing major really happen during the first TIF Agreement? Where did all of those dollars go? Not until the 2nd TIF Agreement downtown do we see anything happening but like I asked where did those dollars go in the first 23 plus years?
They went to the Sycamore Road businesses and projects. Yes the direct competition for downtown merchants and all of this basically accomplished by overtaxing the property owners in this community to fund the TIF from all of the taxing bodies who were part of it. This cannot go on any longer and all should get to understand how the misuse of TIF is making our community one of the highest taxed communities and counties in the United States.
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