NEWS - Lexington TIF
McLean looking at instituting a TIF district |
March 10, 2013 5:30 am • By Kenneth Lowe | [email protected]
MCLEAN — The Village of McLean is taking a step toward instituting a tax increment financing district with a public hearing on the matter Monday.
“The village president and board of trustees were interested in trying to rehabilitate and revitalize the community, so they have been working on this for about a year and a half,” said Mark McGrath, attorney for the village. “It’s an attempt, like all TIFs, to rehabilitate the infrastructure of the community.”
Village President James Adams said a formal vote is likely to occur at the board’s April 1 meeting. Monday’s hearing will be a chance for residents to bring up any concerns.
“Certainly, it’s to compete (with other nearby towns),” Adams said of the decision to consider a TIF district. “We all have things we’d like to see happen, but we have no projects planned.”
The 6:30 p.m. public meeting will be at the Mt. Hope-Funks Grove Park District Building, 107 S. West St., McLean.
TIF districts are areas of a village where a portion of the property tax revenue from businesses is put into a separate TIF fund, which businesses can then apply to use for improvements to their properties, or the village can use to otherwise assist in redevelopment efforts.
The area under discussion would include a large part of the town, aimed at capitalizing on McLean’s position at the intersection of Interstate 55 and U.S. 136, said Adams.
“We’ve got some residential (area) in the TIF, but we’re mainly centered around the interchange of 55 and 136,” he said.
McGrath said the TIF would cover a larger area, which the village board felt was a more economical approach to attracting business. Some talks with potential developers have transpired, but there haven’t been any commitments yet, McGrath said.
As an example of the kind of development McLean hopes to attract, Adams cited Lexington’s recent success in Wirtz Beverage’s choice to locate a new warehouse there rather than in Bloomington. Lexington instituted a TIF district in 2011, and has since used $4 million from the fund for school renovations.
Adams said the TIF district is a good move because it presents few up-front costs to the village to establish. A TIF district does not alter how much those within it pay in property taxes, though it does mean the village would set aside some of the revenue it would otherwise put directly into its coffers.
“It doesn’t cost the people or businesses anything, and the only cost we have is for the village to hire an engineer,” Adams said.
“The village president and board of trustees were interested in trying to rehabilitate and revitalize the community, so they have been working on this for about a year and a half,” said Mark McGrath, attorney for the village. “It’s an attempt, like all TIFs, to rehabilitate the infrastructure of the community.”
Village President James Adams said a formal vote is likely to occur at the board’s April 1 meeting. Monday’s hearing will be a chance for residents to bring up any concerns.
“Certainly, it’s to compete (with other nearby towns),” Adams said of the decision to consider a TIF district. “We all have things we’d like to see happen, but we have no projects planned.”
The 6:30 p.m. public meeting will be at the Mt. Hope-Funks Grove Park District Building, 107 S. West St., McLean.
TIF districts are areas of a village where a portion of the property tax revenue from businesses is put into a separate TIF fund, which businesses can then apply to use for improvements to their properties, or the village can use to otherwise assist in redevelopment efforts.
The area under discussion would include a large part of the town, aimed at capitalizing on McLean’s position at the intersection of Interstate 55 and U.S. 136, said Adams.
“We’ve got some residential (area) in the TIF, but we’re mainly centered around the interchange of 55 and 136,” he said.
McGrath said the TIF would cover a larger area, which the village board felt was a more economical approach to attracting business. Some talks with potential developers have transpired, but there haven’t been any commitments yet, McGrath said.
As an example of the kind of development McLean hopes to attract, Adams cited Lexington’s recent success in Wirtz Beverage’s choice to locate a new warehouse there rather than in Bloomington. Lexington instituted a TIF district in 2011, and has since used $4 million from the fund for school renovations.
Adams said the TIF district is a good move because it presents few up-front costs to the village to establish. A TIF district does not alter how much those within it pay in property taxes, though it does mean the village would set aside some of the revenue it would otherwise put directly into its coffers.
“It doesn’t cost the people or businesses anything, and the only cost we have is for the village to hire an engineer,” Adams said.