“It violates the principles of equity,” the Villages resident said.
“People similarly situated should be treated similarly.
He said the TIFs were “morally questionable and bad public policy.
“You are going to give these people in these TIF districts a tax break,” he continued.
“Calling that area blighted is a felony on the English language.”
Pointing to the Conlon-Collins Ford property which was just reported sold, he observed, “I don’t expect to see tumble weeks blowing across that property.
“It is an inequitable and unwise of tax policy,” he concluded.
Nancy Bland was next. She said she was going to concentrate her comments on the “now,” “not the 23-year plan.
“I don’t believe it is the time or the place for it without a referendum,” the north side Crystal Laker said. “You are shifting taxes during an energy crisis where we already are (in trouble).
“I call that tightening the noose right now.
“What does it do for us right now?” she asked. “These needs are going to have to be met now. These are expenses that are going to go up next year. We’re talking basic necessities that these districts need right now.
“I don’t think we have the money.”
“I feel that these projects should at least go to referendum. We are talking millions of dollars,” she emphasized.
Concluding, Bland said that the school districts will be “the bad guys. They will have had their noose tightened.”
Bo Strom, a local developer, suggested that the direction the city was taking was “a good one. But we’re missing a parallel path to see if the development community is interested in financing it.”
He pointed to the DuPage County Airport 1,000 acres on which a master developer has been named.
“I’d like to see if there is anything at all that could apply to Vulcan Lakes.
An unidentified woman pointed out that all three TIF districts (the city has recently approved a TIF district for property fronting on Virginia Street) will affect the schools and park district.
She asked, “As a property taxpayer, can you guarantee the schools and the park district won’t face any more TIF districts over the next 23 years?”
She then took offense on behalf of District 155 at a question Councilwoman Ellen Brady Mueller asked concerning the District’s not having informed the city of expansion of parking lots. High School Board President Ted Wagner had earlier complained about the city not having discussed the TIF districts with his school district before the official notification process began.
On the Main Street project, the owner of 77 E. Crystal Lake Avenue expressed ambiguity concerning the inclusion of his property in the Downtown TIF district. He questioned what the$12.5 million for assembling property was for. In essence, he was asking if the city would exercise its condemnation powers.
“I can say this. At no time has this city council considered…using our condemnation authority in any TIF we have contemplated,” Mayor Aaron Shepley stated. “If property owners have that concern, they are false.”
The Co-Executive Director of Downtown Crystal Lake, a state-subsidized part of Illinois Main Street, spoke in favor of the Main Street TIF, relating how the Downtown TIF had succeeded over the last 20 years. When asked, she replied that she did not think Downtown would have revived the way it has without the TIF.
She said that this TIF would expand the boundaries of Downtown, making it eligible for state architectural assistance.
Both a citizen and a public official, Crystal Lake Park District Kirk Reimer, described the “very spirited discussion” at his last park board meeting. He said his board members had been trying to determine, “What is the effect? Is it good or bad for the Park District?
With a $12 million budget, “It’s very important to collect as much money as we can.”
Reimer explained that his board had specifically asked the Teske associate who explained the Vulcan Lakes project to his board for “numbers” which had not yet been provided.
He complained that “Teske (had come) out with a report that says TIFs have no impact on the municipality. A single paragraph that says, ‘No impact.’
Speaking of this Thursday’s park board meeting, “I don’t know whether I’ll have those numbers or not.”
Shepley then took the same tact he took with District 155 Board President Ted Wagner, asking Reimer if he was at the Joint Review Board meetings. Referring to the minutes, he noted that the Park Board had voted, “No.”
Reimer explained that he had abstained on both proposals, since his board had not yet taken a stand.