Thursday, February 4, 2010

Call To Action: Maryville TIF Red Tape Begins

Send a few emails, or show up on Monday, to let your feelings be known about the proposed Maryville TIF.

An eagle-eyed reader tells us that the City Council's Finance Committee is meeting at 10am on Monday, February 8th, in the City Council chambers.  It's very probable that the Wilson Yard amendment will be under consideration at this meeting, although the agenda has not been released yet. The ordinance has been written so that amending it to remove the Maryville parcels (which is what Amendment No. 2 is all about) is a technical change that doesn't require any individual public meetings before passage.  (Great way to get around the Open Meetings Act, isn't it?)

This meeting is very possibly the only public shot people can take at this first step towards a Maryville TIF. If you can skip work to attend -- great!  If not, please contact Ald. Shiller and other members of the Finance Committee and let your feelings be known.  To contact them, click on this link and scroll down to Finance Committee.  Links are there to email them.

One argument you can make is that makes sense for a full plan for the parcel to be in place, before cutting properties out of one TIF to create another TIF to help finance it. Isn't it our right, as citizens and financiers, to know where this development is heading before it's allowed to be funded? Our source says the other aldermen may cite Shiller's prerogative to run her ward how she wants, but it may give some of them something to think about if she does decide to run for re-election and asks for their endorsement.

5 comments:

  1. Sent an email to the entire committee asking them to carefully consider taking millions of dollars away from City Services. Also pointed out that many of the questions from the only public meeting held about this issue remain unanswered. I reviewed my concern that when I contacted many of them when the voted for changes to The Wilson Yard TIF they could not even explain what they voted for. Only that Helen "was excited about it." I explained how like many City tax payers and voters I now pay much closer attention to these TIF Districts.

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  2. Don't bother emailing Carothers, or Banks (both have quit, and most likely for the very same reason).

    Consider, if you will, the main money-related committee on Council had a member who wore a wire. Maybe that will help us understand why Shiller received a subpoena.

    Also consider that Preckwinkle is now in the running for Cook County President.

    Let's not forget to remind her that she is running as a reform candidate, and her vote (or lack of one) could very well affect some of the voting on the north side.

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  3. "...carefully consider taking millions of dollars away from City Services."

    thanks for doing that

    in their twisted world view the property is currently tax-exempt so they're not taking anything away from anybody

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  4. some points to ponder before Monday' showdown...

    consider if you will the implications of TIF-ing a previously tax exempt property wholly owned by a single land owner

    the tax "base" is nothing - ALL the property taxes collected in F. Marty's personal TIF district for the next 24 to 35 years or so are "increment", ALL will go to the TIF fund, which will be rebated back to F. Marty as an expression of our profound gratitude for maybe someday building luxury condos, NONE of the property taxes will go to our schools, parks, county health system - you know, the things the rest of us (who don't own in a TIF) have to carry

    in effect our elected representatives are arranging that the tax exemption on the soon-to-be former Maryville properties be extended to a for-profit developer

    sweet!

    raise your hand if you would like your property taxes rebated back to you!

    (but you're not a campaign contributor, are you?)

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  5. what we have here is a unique once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand our lakefront park system

    tear Maryville down and plant grass seed and put up some swings: that's what I call a community benefit

    TIF can be used to acquire land and improve parks, so if they're going to TIF it, and we're not going to see any property tax revenue from these properties anyway, the way to serve the general good here is to use the existing WY TIF fund to buy from the good sisters

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