The Chronicle covered the public hearing on the proposed Sycamore Road and South Fourth Street TIF districts last night. The article seems a bit short but I’m gratified to have been quoted. Three of us spoke at the hearing: Kerry Mellott, Mac McIntyre and me. If you did not observe Mac’s and Kerry’s contributions, let…
Category: TIF
Central Area TIF Public & Private Investment Totals
If one of the indispensable purposes of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) plans is to spur private investment in a given area, the Central Area TIF District is a failure. Today I received copies of Central Area annual reports for fiscal years 2011 and 2012 in response to a Freedom of Information Act request meant to…
Of DeKalb’s Newly Proposed TIF Districts, South Fourth Would Be a Pill
DeKalb is considering implementation of two new Tax Increment Financing (TIF) proposals for Sycamore Road and for South Fourth Street. The public hearings on these plans are scheduled for August 12. The Sycamore Road plan is small, targeted, and clearly ends with tax-paying private businesses. The South Fourth plan speaks vaguely to buying up private…
Map of Proposed South Fourth Street TIF District
Zombie TIF and Other Notes from Last Night
DeKalb’s city council met again with DeKalb’s financial consultants, EPI/Crowe, to consider the latter’s latest report and recommendations. The most important information to pass on to you is that the consultants told the council, at least twice AND in so many words, that the city will enter another financial crisis within five years if it…
As We Head to the Final Vote on the Budget
DeKalb’s expenses are outpacing revenues: The city will spend at least $30 million from its general fund, a 5.4 percent increase from this fiscal year. The city’s general fund pays for city personnel, equipment, and contractual services. The city is projecting $31.1 million in revenue for fiscal 2014, a 4.2 percent increase from this fiscal…
New Council Gets a Good Start
City of DeKalb employees and the group Ellwood Historic Neighborhood have hatched a new plan just in time to take up a line item in the FY2014 budget: Buy up multi-family homes in the north 5th Ward, convert them to single-family and resell each property at a loss. In fact: “We have worked with a…
DeKalb’s Hiring Spree
The City of DeKalb got rid of 30+ employees at the beginning of FY2011 in order to balance its budget. There followed a year of quiet, but now we’re in the midst of a hiring spree. [table id=70 /] Here is what it has done to personnel expenses. [table id=72 /] And here’s what the…
Let’s Do the Math (Again) with the Economic Development Fund
The DeKalb Chamber of Commerce wants a new annual allocation from the city. The DeKalb Chamber of Commerce is requesting $45,000 from the city to create an event coordinator position to take over the events that Re:New DeKalb has run for years…Re:New DeKalb will undergo a fundamental shift later this year, said Frank Roberts, the…
Library to Borrow $6 Million as Part of “Fundraising Strategy”
Once again let me express deep, deep skepticism that DeKalb Public Library will actually raise the stated goal of $6 million in private donations to contribute to its expansion costs. Witness the latest step toward putting it on the taxpayers. In order to meet a looming June 30 deadline, the DeKalb Public Library will borrow…