Tax Increment Financing

What The Mayor Thinks:

When I ran in 2007, Tax Increment Financing was a big problem. An economic development tool that was designed to remove blight and encourage development was being abused by greedy developers at the expense of our schools, libraries, neighborhoods and basic city services. I said I would rein it in, and we did.

What The Mayor Has Done:

I appointed a new TIF Commission, and I have pushed for a greater voice for representation from our schools, libraries and other jurisdictions on that commission.
Together, we closed the first TIF plan to return funds to the jurisdictions, a major success. We turned the tide on unneeded and out-of-control economic incentives. But I didn’t stop there. I recently called for, and the TIF Commission agreed to, an audit of all TIF-related accounts.
During my administration, we’ve ended the era of willy-nilly incentives and brought responsibility to a system that had been abused far too often.

What The Mayor Plans to Do:

Never say never.
TIF has been abused in the past, but it remains a viable tool under the right circumstances. I will continue to personally study each TIF proposal to see if it does what it’s supposed to do: create urban development where there is urban blight.
But that’s not all.
I will continue to make sure your tax dollars are being properly spent, and that the city doesn’t fall back into the trap of developers who would use this sometimes vital tool for projects where it clearly was needed more for their own financial gain, than to bring critical improvements to a blighted section of the city.