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…
Tag: TIF
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…
The Real Reason There’s a “Skating Rink Lady” in This Municipal Election
Last night I was lucky to attend the candidates’ night hosted by the DeKalb Area Rental Association. Candidates running for DeKalb mayor and aldermen participated. Some performances I liked real well, others I didn’t. Later, I realized the people who impressed me the least were the ones promising regular town hall meetings, ward coffee sessions,…
DeKalb TIF Absurdity
Wow, today’s Chronicle article about TIF seems very one-sided and in need of additional viewpoints. That’s what blogs are for! Let’s start with the statement about Sycamore Road. DeKalb’s districts helped revitalize Sycamore Road with the additions of Target, Walmart and major shopping corridors. Revitalize? Do they think Sycamore Road was full of slums? It…
Pensions & TIF in DeKalb
Except in the case of the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts, DeKalb’s property taxes go toward pensions and FICA almost exclusively, and its share of your annual property tax bill is about 7%. Using these facts along with TIF revenue data, I set out to estimate how much city property tax flows into TIF funds…
First Reading of Housing Ordinance Changes Comes Tomorrow
The agenda for tomorrow’s city council meetings is here. Now, it finally becomes apparent* that the $6 million they’ve got stockpiled in the TIF 2 fund is mostly going to go into the Municipal Building. Of course, the use of TIF money for this purpose will bring in all kinds of new private development and…
Olive Garden Will Automatically Cost My Family $68.34 If It Opens in DeKalb
Between the TIF corporate welfare and a new parking lot for NIU, the City of DeKalb will be paying out somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 million to put Olive Garden on oh-so-blighted Sycamore Road if the deal the city council voted for last night is finalized to the satisfaction of all parties. Assuming the…
Arguments Against New TIF Districts in DeKalb
Because somebody’s got to do it. Here are the general reasons DeKalb should not open up any new Tax Increment Financing Districts at this time. Pensions. DeKalb’s property tax levy is applied only toward pension costs, and pension costs have been accelerating. Every penny that gets swallowed by the increment has to be made up…