Schools
Geneva School District Seeks Public Support to Fight Proposed TIF
The city has proposed the TIF District, which school officials are opposed to.
School officials say the proposed TIF District could hurt Geneva schools as well as local property taxpayers in Geneva and the Mill Creek subdivision, according to a press release. Presenters at the forum will include the school district’s attorney and a TIF consultant who will demonstrate evidence that school officials say show that an eligibility study the city used to justify the TIF District is flawed.
The city contends the TIF district, which would be for an area on the east side of the downtown near the Fox River, is "eligible as a conservation TIF due to age and deterioration of buildings, 'inadequate' growth in the value of property, and inadequate infrastructure such as water mains, sewers, streets and sidewalks," according to the Daily Herald.
In explaining the purpose of a TIF district, the Daily Herald reports:
In a TIF district, the amount of property taxes collected for governing bodies, including the school district, are frozen for up to 23 years. Any incremental growth in property taxes is collected in a fund the city can use to pay for things that improve the properties and make them more valuable.
At the end of the TIF, the difference in the properties' value at the beginning and end is calculated, and taxing bodies get to book the difference as new construction for purpose of levying taxes. The state property tax limitation law restricts increases in levies to no more than 5 percent or the rate of inflation. There is a one-year exception for new construction.
The city of Geneva plans to vote on TIF District 3 at a public hearing on May 16. The school district hopes this vote will be delayed until the city and other taxing bodies have an opportunity to work together on an economic development solution, according to the school district news release.
The forum will be held at Geneva Middle School North, 1357 Viking Drive, starting at 7 p.m. on May 3.
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