City, School District Close to Agreement on TIF

All that's left is a little lawyering, a public viewing and a vote.

It appears the city of Elmhurst and School District 205 are very close to signing off on an agreement that spells out how the city is going to share property tax revenue from its tax increment financing districts. TIF districts freeze property values for up to 23 years to encourage redevelopment in areas considered blighted. TIFs generate revenue through new construction in the district. The difference between the frozen property value and any new growth goes into a fund to pay for improvements or redevelopment in the district. Two of the three elements of the revenue sharing plan have not been disputed by either side. First, the city will pay a $1.5 million surplus from the Lake Street TIF to the School District and Elmhurst Park Board. …

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City Council Will Establish TIF 4 Next Week Without Revenue Sharing Agreement with District 205

School Board president says significant progress has been made; an agreement should be in place by the end of September.

When Elmhurst City Council meets on Tuesday, Sept. 4, to vote to establish a new tax increment financing district, TIF 4, it will do so without an agreement in place to share TIF funds with District 205 schools. Both bodies have been meeting for a couple of months to try to get something in writing that everyone can agree on, but they aren't there yet, School Board President Jim Collins said Tuesday. "We're in substantial agreement with the majority of points with the city," he said. "We really hoped we could have an agreement in place by the time the city votes on Tuesday, but we won't. As I've said before, the devil is in the details." TIF districts freeze assessed property values for local taxing bodies for up to 23 years to encourage …

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Readers Debate the Potential Consequences of a Fourth Elmhurst TIF

Tax increment financing has many facets, as this comment thread shows. The conversation continues. Care to weigh in?

TIF Revenue-sharing Plan Comes With Three Components Designed to Help School, Park Districts

City approval of TIF 4 could come on Sept. 4; Elmhurst District 205 Board members want this agreement carefully spelled out.

Elmhurst officials have been working on a plan for sharing the hoped-for rewards of a new tax increment financing district, known as TIF 4, with Elmhurst Unit District 205 and other local taxing bodies. Aldermen saw a draft proposal for that plan Monday night. The proposed North York Street TIF would extend from Grand Avenue to North Avenue but would also include an area around Hahn Street and Addison Avenue that is currently part of TIF 1, which covers the central business district. TIF districts freeze assessed property values for local taxing bodies for up to 23 years to encourage redevelopment in areas considered blighted. TIFs generate revenue through new construction in the district. The difference between the frozen property value …

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City Offers Park and School Districts Revenue Sharing Agreement to Lessen the Burden of TIF

Park Board is considering the terms, and the School District has tentatively agreed to them, according to Park District documents.

Among other business on their Aug. 13 agenda, Elmhurst Park commissioners will discuss the City of Elmhurst's proposed North York Street tax increment financing district (TIF 4). Included in the Park District agenda packet released last week are some details of the negotiation process the city has begun with Elmhurst School District 205 and the Park District to lessen the impact of the TIF on their budgets. TIF districts freeze assessed property values for local taxing bodies for up to 23 years to encourage redevelopment in areas considered blighted. TIFs generate new revenue through new construction in the TIF district, or if the township assessor increases the assessed value of the properties in the TIF district. The difference between …

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City Gets to Work Moving York/Vallette and Riverside Drive TIFs Forward

North York TIF could be approved as early as Aug. 20; revenue sharing plan with District 205 still hasn't been worked out.

City officials on Monday continued their efforts to double the number of tax increment financing districts in Elmhurst from three to six. For several months, of the three proposed new TIFs, the focus has been squarely on the North York Street TIF. But on Monday, the Development, Planning and Zoning Committee turned its gaze back to the other two, taking the next steps toward establishing TIF districts at York and Vallette, and along Riverside Drive. TIF districts freeze assessed property values for local taxing bodies for up to 23 years to encourage redevelopment in areas considered blighted. TIFs generate new revenue through new construction in the TIF district, or if the township assessor increases the assessed value of the properties in…

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Dan

8:00 am on Thursday, July 12, 2012

You are right on the money about Mayor Daley. Siphoning the incremental increases from the taxing bodies from where they should be going and instead placing them under control of the city is a huge money-power grab by the city. In part why do you think Illinois pensions are in crisis? Money was directed away from fully funding the pension system and instead used by politicians to fund pet …   more ›

School Board Members Say City Moving Too Fast on TIF, Not Allowing Time for Discussion

TIF Joint Review Board meets Monday at 5 p.m.; continuance not likely.

The city of Elmhurst is moving forward with its plan to establish a Tax Increment Financing district on North York Road, and District 205 School Board members say they've been caught off guard by the rapid timeline the city is pursuing. The next step in the process of creating a new TIF is a meeting of the TIF Joint Review Board, made up of representatives of all taxing bodies within the proposed district, at 5 p.m. today, Monday, July 2, at City Hall. Communication between the city and School Board has been lacking—School Board member Susan DeRonne said she heard about the JRB meeting from an article she read in the newspaper—and the School District has a lot at stake. The assessed value of the properties in the new TIF district, which is…

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North York Road TIF Boundary Change Could Be a Little Bit of Good News for Schools

Including two schools in the TIF shows "good faith" effort by the city, alderman says.

Work on three potential new tax-increment financing districts in Elmhurst moved forward Monday night with a change to the boundaries of one area. Studies in an area of North York Road, from North Avenue to Grand Avenue, will now include Conrad Fischer Elementary School and Churchville Middle School within its boundaries. Development, Planning and Zoning Committee Chairman and 6th Ward Alderman Steve Morley said including the two schools will give the city more flexibility in distributing potential fund surpluses to Elmhurst Unit District 205. The schools have to be within the TIF to receive any money in the fund but can get this money even before any surplus is declared, Morley added on Tuesday. The money can only be used on improvements …

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Jim Court

9:53 pm on Thursday, March 22, 2012

When I say what I would have done differently it is not to disrespect those who made the choices they did, for whatever reason they did. I never want to be a know it all. My overly active brain never stops analyzing, plain and simple. This community has many positive qualities. My wish is to only add to the community voice in an attempt to see Elmhurst to continue to evolve. As humans, we are all…   more ›