The City of Bloomington held a public meeting Monday on the proposed Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Redevelopment Plan that, if approved, would create a new TIF district in the downtown area.
A TIF district diverts any new tax revenue generated by an increase in property values back into redevelopment of the area. There are currently three TIF districts in Bloomington. The Bloomington City Council considered creating another TIF district around downtown in 2018, but elected not to do so.
In a public notice about the meeting, the city stated that “a purpose of a TIF redevelopment project area is to promote and protect the health, safety, morals and welfare of the public by removing or alleviating adverse conditions in a targeted area” through both public and private investments.
The city specifies it has no intention of displacing inhabited residential units. One of the primary uses of a TIF is to identify buildings that are unused or in disrepair and allocate public and private funds to rehabilitate them.
PGAV Planners is partnering with the city on the TIF project. The firm's senior director, John Brancaglione, gave a presentation and answered questions at Monday's meeting. He said a TIF district uses property taxes generated from increased property value “to revitalize areas by way of improving buildings and infrastructure.”
Brancaglione specified that “private investment must be attracted in order to generate TIF funds.” When a property is improved through private investment, the additional money generated from the increased property tax value is then reinvested into infrastructure in the district. TIF funds must be used within the specified district.
Brancaglione also emphasized the TIF district would not directly cause tax rates to go up.
“If the assessor valuations go up in a given area, and the tax rate goes up accordingly, it will have nothing to do with TIF,” he said, adding the TIF plan has no impact in those valuations. He specified that Bloomington already has targeted goals and guidelines concerning what the city will and won’t pay for with regards to TIF-related projects.
Brancaglione did say there is an Illinois business district law that allows a city to either dedicate its own revenue back to a project, or levy a new sales tax up to 1%. TIF-eligible expenses include the cost of job training, renovations or expansions to school or library buildings, and the rehabilitation of structures.
The current three TIF districts [in the city] are primary focused on encouraging the revitalization of historic areas. The new TIF would “assist in the redevelopment of vacant and underutilized properties in the downtown area and to support a downtown streetscape initiative,” Brancaglione said.
Public commenters at the meeting were in widespread agreement with the proposed TIF plan. Local business owner Ruth Haney said her business, Haney Plumbing and Rental, has benefited from an existing TIF district.
“I think it’s a wonderful program and I can’t speak more highly of it,” she said.
The proposed downtown TIF district could be approved as early as July 24. Should it be approved, it would remain in effect until Dec. 31, 2048. There will be a meeting of affected taxing bodies on June 3 to discuss the plan.
Brancaglione said the city will likely then create a joint review board that will deliver a report to the city council for its consideration. There will be at least one additional public meeting.
