Being Transparent Doesn’t Molify Potential Lakewood SportsPlex Neighbors

Chicagoland SportsPlex plan.

Chicagoland SportsPlex plan.

Lakewood’s Village Board brought those proposing to build the Chicagoland SportsPlex to face the public Tuesday night, one week before zoning of it is to be considered.

The main concern of those in Colleens Cote, who have a Huntley postal address, was pollution;

  • light
  • noise
  • visual

One person wondered if a hotel might be built north of his home on Route 47.

Village President Erin Smith pointed out that the long-range plan of Lakewood (posted on the village web site) had envisioned commercial development along Route 47 for a long time.

A 500-foot setback was put forth by one of the neighbors.

Mike Turner

Mike Turner

Spokesman for the developer, Vice Presiden Mike Turner, said that lighting for night games, which would end at 10 to 10:30 would be “directional.”

“I’m  an electrical contractor and I can tell you it doesn’t work,” a man from Colleens Cote interjected.

Jim Kearns represented his Grafton Township constituents.

Jim Kearns represented his Grafton Township constituents.

Traffic on the back roads was also a concern.

Grafton Township Supervisor Jim Kearns said township roads would not handle another 2,500 vehicles a day.

A neighbor pointed out that the Hamilton Road (at the western edge of the project) already was a favored path to the “Harley mecca” in Woodstock.

The developers said that traffic will be allowed to exit the back ball fields through a right-only exist.

Other neighbors through that any exit on Hamilton Road would be unsafe with all the hills.

Erin Smith

Erin Smith

Village President Erin Smith pointed out that township roads bordering the SportsPlex would become Lakewood roads.

So, maintenance and police patrolling would become a village responsibility.

While most questions at the informational meeting seemed to be from those living outside of the Village of Lakewood, Janet Lee, who lives in the original part of Lakewood in Country Club Additions asked if there were “any way we in Lakewood could be held responsible in any shape or form of way.”

It so reminded me of my question in 1992 as to whether the golf course would “ever cost me a dime.”

I was told, “No,” at the time, but the Village Board changed its mind at a subsequent with the inducement of a lower interest rate, if property taxes could fill any gap in the dedicated revenue stream.

And, as Lakewood residents know, for many of the twenty years the bonds were repaid with hefty additions to our property taxes.

When I brought the golf course flip-flop up near the end of the meeting, assurances were made that no bonds would be sold with the possibility that property taxpayers might have to pick up the tab if a dedicated revenue stream were inadequate (as the greens fees were for the golf course).

Village officials also gave assurances real estate taxes would not be affected by the sale of Tax Increment Financing bonds and that no investment besides infrastructure.

Jack Porter

Jack Porter

Designer Jack Porter explained, as he did four years ago, how conservation friendly the development would be.

Current wetlands would be preserved and past ones would be restored.

He even proposes a Special Service Area be set up composed of the property and watershed areas to the north.

In answer to a question of a woman who was impressed with the development, Porter said that the 150,000 square foot indoor sports facility would be LEADS Certified.

There was conflicting testimony about whether the TIF District, which might result in the borrowing of up to $63 million, would raise taxes.

George Mueller, who was involved in the Virginia Street Tax Increment Financing District in Crystal Lake said,

“Government money doesn’t go to the TIF.”

“It’s the people’s money from that property [that pays for the TIG]

“The local government will be the big winner.

“I’ve been involved in it.

“No government money was expended up front.”

I have to admit that set me off.

That is the party line of TIF supporters.

What is not said is that when local tax districts don’t get access to increased assessed valuation, if they are not at their maximum tax rate, they just raise their tax rates to make up for the difference.

Guess who pays for that.

It’s every property owner outside the TIF district.

The TIF bonds proceeds are targeted at extending water and sewer to the property.

The SportsPlex would have to pay $700,000 in tap in fees.

An additional $5 million has been allocated to improve the intersection of Routes 176 and 47 (the southern leg).

Smith revealed that the purchase of land south of Pleasant Valley Road by the Village was for “a strategic reason,” that reason being to spur the Illinois Department of Transportation to look more seriously at improving the intersection.

[I certainly hope that with a Republican Governor that Lakewood doesn’t have to pay to fix a dangerous state highway intersection.  Smith said it was one of the most dangerous intersections in the State of Illinois, which has been used to accelerate IDOTs  planning work.]A

Unlike last time, this iteration of the sports complex will not be a for-profit entity.

Salaries, not profits are what the organizers expect to receive.

All financing will come from the sale of bonds.

Bond advisor Townsend Albright of Walloon Financial Advisers told the crowd that he was
“excited, especially with the management team.”

He said the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization made it “much easier to finance.”

Specifically mentioned was money from naming rights, which could be directly pledged to pay down the bonds.

Local bond advisor Steve Willson disagreed with Albright’s rosy analysis.

“I’m on the buy side.

“I advise a high yield [fund].

“It is my professional opinion that I would never recommend this proposal to my client.”

“Show us the overwhelming evident that it might succeed,” he challenged Smith.

“The bond market will decide,” Trustee Gene Furey replied.

Comparing the current proposal to the previous one, Turner, who is a member of the Woodstock City Council, pointed out,

“The bond market [then] did its job.

“It killed it.”

Construction is estimated to cost $40 million with ground breaking sometime this summer.

Questioned about the chances for success of the SportsPlex, Turner said that sports being proposed had been changed (no motocross anymore and 17 sports being considered).

“Bond holders have held our feet to the fire.

“There’s been a tremendous amount of scrutiny.

“It has been vetted extensively by people who will be putting up the money.

“Their money is at risk.”

He contended the facility would draw locally (up to 40 miles away), regionally, super regionally and nationally.

He pointed to the CABA youth baseball tournament which he has a hand in running for five years.

Village President Smith added,

“This particular proposal has less risk for Lakewood.”

Near the end of the meeting, a Colleens Cote resident observed,

“This has sealed the fate of two hundred residential families.”

Len Tenore estimated thate would be 75-80 full-time jobs and 150-200 part-time positions.


Comments

Being Transparent Doesn’t Molify Potential Lakewood SportsPlex Neighbors — 40 Comments

  1. Three points:

    1. The statement: “Village officials also gave assurances real estate taxes would not be affected by the sale of Tax Increment Financing bonds and that no investment besides infrastructure.” is not a distortion it is a ‘bald-faced’ lie! Of course now the Supreme Court has ruled that this is OK.

    2. Go to the west side of Libertyville and ask residents about the light pollution from the Libertyville Sports and Fitness Complex. Ask them what happened to the values of their homes. Libertyville did not annex the residential area affected by the night lights and the NOISE.

  2. So the village owns Red Tail golf course that has been managed into the dirt and in need of millions in repairs.

    So when these sports complex folks leave town, and the facility is in need of millions in repair, what is the plan?

    The village has demonstrated no business acumen in dealing with recreation related business enterprises and should be sticking to fixing streets and police protection.

  3. The Cook County Clerk website contains a 6 minute “Understanding TIFs” video.

    http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/tsd/tifs

    Path
    http://www.cookcountyclerk.com > TIFs (left side of screen) > Understanding TIFs: Video

    Also available at:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws52ykXb-MM&feature=c4-overview&list=UUxNqkwkqYtNg4ZGGFUNW3EQ

    The video clearly shows and says that money diverted to the TIF is replenished by taxpayers.

    In the video’s words if a $300,000 TIF is created “then taxpayers must pay an additional $300,000 to make that district whole.”

    Here is the whole sentence in the video.

    “For example, if a taxing district requests $1 Million, and $300,000 is diverted to a TIF, the taxpayers must pay an additional $300,000 to make that district whole.”

    2:34 to 2:55 mark in the video.

    Thus a TIF increases property taxes paid.

  4. What a show….it was like watching a car lot salesman pitching a really bad car to a 17 year old kid.

    Its the money people…….

    Lakewood cares not at all about the area just the income and power it gives them to be in control.

    Notice the board all night…..not really a peep.

    They know how to get out of something that has gotten away from them.

    The press, county government and state government are the way to stop this.

  5. This has got to be one of the biggest lies that are out there when it comes to job creation. Where do they come up with these figures is just plain crazy!

    That means at any given time that there is going to be what on avg. 125 workers there at a time!

    Doing what!?

    This is a facility that will hold leagues and tournaments!

    You will have food/beverage there during those times.

    Ground crews and people to run the place and set up leagues and tournaments.

    Grounds crew will have 1 full time person and say 5 part timers during the warmer months.

    During the winter you don’t need a grounds crew per si!

    Maybe just the 1 full time guy.

    You will have maintenance/cleaning crew.

    1-2 full time and 5 part time.

    People running the concessions will be mostly part time say 15 which of course you will have turnover a lot but you can fill these with mostly high school and college kids.

    Now you have the person running the place and maybe 1-2 full time to help.

    Your just setting up leagues/tournaments etc..

    Have a small office staff for paperwork etc..

    So lets say 3 full time with 5-10 part time office staff.

    Ok lets look at the total and be generous 10 full time 35 part time at any given time.

    That is 45 jobs not 280 jobs!

    Even if I am a little light there is no way that this complex will have 280 jobs!

    I guess you can throw in the referees but that is stretching what jobs are being developed because if this complex goes in Woodstock, Crystal Lake, Huntley, Algonquin/Lake in the Hills, Marengo will see a drop off in there leagues guaranteed so those refs are just being moved from one area to another and not creating jobs.

    My thing is that if Lakewood wants to build a complex fine but do it on their dime, their taxpayers or find a private entity.

    Not $1 should come from surrounding communities, county, state or federal taxes to build this or maintain it!

  6. So this is the kind of thing that always seems to happen when people decide that they don’t want to rely on the County to make decisions for them and incorporate small areas so they will have ‘control’.

    We saw this with Oakwood Hills this year, with Prairie Grove a few years back (Terra Cotta development) and now with Lakewood, which was originally formed so they wouldn’t be swallowed up by Crystal Lake.

    Then over time you get people in office who get delusions of grandeur and want to be like the big boys and develop, develop, develop.

    The TIF district gives them further leverage.

    It doesn’t look to me like this is an appropriate application of the spirit of the TIF legislation either.

    Maybe someone can shoehorn it in but I don’t think that developing a rural area that is perfectly fine as it is just to try and grab some tax revenue was what was intended.

  7. I lived in Lakewood for 50 years.

    Lakewood has no business getting involved in such a massive undertaking.

    Next will be the hiring of endless staff to deal with the project.

    Once a staff member is hired by a governmental agency, they are lifers.

    Good luck in defeating the pipe dream.

  8. Remember that Huntley created a TIF District for the Huntley Outlet Stores property.

    I believe it was raw farmland.

    At that time I figured out that a TIF District could be put anywhere.

  9. Mike Walkup, join the chorus of voters shouting to legislators to Ban tif’s altogether.

    California did just that 2 years ago.

    They somehow manage on a 1% capped property tax rate.

    Please there is no middle ground.

    If Nobody could get a tif, then developers would have to stop altogether (and starve?) or put up their own money at risk like they used to.

    Who will fund anything (schools, police, fire, government, MCCD) when all developable land is committed to diverting all future tax revenue to tif?

    We taxpayers don’t NEED tif, we don’t WANT tif, so why isn’t there a hue and cry to abolish tif?

  10. Yes susan, TIF districts were supposed to be used only for “blighted” areas, not for areas that would eventually be developed anyway. Using a TIF for vacant farmland is inappropriate.

    I think they can be beneficial in terms of redevelopment of urban areas that have experienced decline but there is really not much in McHenry County that falls under that definition.

  11. Mark, the Cook County Assessor’s video on TIFs is pretty good, but it misstates an important point about raising everyone else’s taxes.

    Assume a TIF district is created.

    And assume no development would have occurred without the TIF.

    That’s the way the law is supposed to work.

    I’m not saying this is what actually happens in practice, but assume for the moment that it does.

    Suppose that your local school district levied $10 million before the TIF district was created, and levied $10 million afterwards.

    The bill is spread among all the taxpayers, including property in the TIF, based on its initial value.

    In both cases, the taxpayers in aggregate pay their $10 million.

    But suppose the EAV of the TIF district goes up and it gets $100,000 that would have gone to the school district.

    Did everybody else’s tax go up because of the TIF district?

    Well, that’s the whole “but for” question.

    If you believe the development would NOT have happened without the TIF, and so the additional EAV wouldn’t have been there without the TIF, then, no, the TIF didn’t increase everyone else’s taxes.

    If you believe development WOULD have happened without the TIF, then, yes, the TIF just increased everyone else’s taxes.

    So it is not universally the case that TIFs always raise taxes.

    Just most of the time.

  12. Michael Walkup, I agree with both you and Susan.

    Yes, there are cases where a TIF district might be used properly.

    But they have been abused massively and there is no way to refine the criteria that clever counsel won’t find a way around.

    So the only alternative is to ban them.

    I think the same should be done with all other tax giveaways.

    Too many businesses get municipalities into a bidding war to snare them, and there’s a “race to the bottom” to see who can give back the most taxes.

    Banning such practices is the only way to stop the practice.

  13. SSorry Steve it IS universally the case that tifs always raise taxes.

    Describe one instance where a tif did not create an expense to be borne by others, others in “overlapping” districts.

    Need for more police due to increased traffic in wider area, road improvement s ala Randall road, fire and rescue needs are increased per population growth.

    And of course the big one, school children to be paid for by those who will not see dime one of tif revenue. And all the pensions of the new support services live on long after the job.

    But immediately, you have conferred increased borrowing ability to all countywide taxing bodies, and the unlucky school district.

    And all that new debt will be borne by us, non tiffers.

  14. Agree completely that bad actors have made abuse of tif structure so pervasive and destructive, the only choice is to ban them .

    Then perhaps try to find some other more narrow mechanisms for those righteous incidences described.

  15. Susan, I was speaking specifically to the error in the Cook County Assessor’s explanation of how TIF rules work.

    My explanation was for Mark’s benefit so he did not make incorrect statements about the rules for TIFs that would cause errors in his analysis in the future and reduce his credibility.

    You are talking about a different aspect of TIFs.

  16. Aren’t those four monolith blights on Route 14 in Crystal Lake part of the wonderful TIF recently foisted on the taxpayers?

  17. They are.

    $16,000 apiece and all of property owners outside of the Virginia Street TIF District paid for them through higher taxes levied by other taxing districts, e.g., schools.

  18. The village and trustees of Lakewood, I feel, were present and responsive when called upon.

    The meeting was not for those individuals to sell or promote the SportsPlex, it was to provide an opportunity for a project they feel is viable for sustainable economic growth in Lakewood.

    Personally I would have been uncomfortable if they had more input on the project directly.

    You may disagree with how a project is presented but the management team did come prepared with responses to each question or comment that they could answer.

    Some of the questions or comments had to be handled directly by the village because they involved ongoing projects as President Smith pointed out.

    Myself and a new Lakewood resident felt we got a lot out of the meeting from both perspectives and there few points made by attendees that were parked for the next meeting.

    That’s a good sign of commitment to the social and environmental impacts as well as the money.

  19. Has there ever been a parcel of land with an EAV that was frozen (or decreased) for 23 years without a TIF in the history of McHenry County?

    Which parcel?

  20. Teagen – Please don’t be fooled by the slick pictures and presentation.

    Drive the roads and see for yourself what a mess it will be to shoehorn such a project along small country roads and expect hundreds of cars to get in and out not only along 47 but small, hilly roads.

    Drive 47 in the morning and around 5 pm and see if you can cram another several hundred cars in there safely and efficiently.

    All their studies are out of date.

    It sounded great when they said they did a Phase 1 study.

    All that means is that they walked the property.

    If they were really concerned about the environmental and social impact it wouldn’t be located there.

    Would you want to live next to that project?

    Do you think you could sell your house if you wanted to get out?

    I highly doubt it.

  21. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Toby Rittner (Council of Development Finance Agencies) “In the wake of an economic downturn, many cities are left with sites, projects, districts, or entire urban cores requiring redevelopment.

    The need for social improvements such as community centers, school rehabs, and parks has also become a critical development challenge.

    However, the ongoing risks of the development market require communities to be even more diligent and aware when entering into the use of public financing mechanisms such as Pay for Success (PFS) financing.

    One such mechanism, tax increment finance (TIF), has the potential to forge a new path for communities to fund development projects on the basis of their success.”

  22. The Residential Feasibility study conducted for the property covers a lot more than a walk-through and I can’t imagine if it’s bad now, what problems could grow from not investing in that intersection.

    Here are the areas the Feasibility study covered:

    An in-depth field investigation of the subject site and its environs to determine the geographic boundaries of the study area, taking into consideration the property’s orientation to major traffic thoroughfares, existing areas of commercial and residential development, general household movement over time, and local market custom and propensities.

     An on-site inspection and evaluation of the subject property with regard to its suitability to residential development. Included in this evaluation were assessments of the property’s physical character; locational attributes such as visibility, accessibility, and adjacent land uses; and proximity to shopping, services, schools, centers of employment, public transportation, and other life-enhancing amenities.

    Residential Market Analysis ▪ Lakewood, IL

    IL-47 and IL-176 Redevelopment Project Area

    iii R e s i d e n t i a l P l a n n i n g P a r t n e r s , L L C

     A review of applicable municipal planning documents and interviews with Village officials, Client representatives, and area real estate development professionals to garner a full understanding of the area planning and development context.

     An analysis of local and regional demographic and socio-economic trends, including current and projected population and household growth, population age dynamics, area income, household formation and derivation, employment, and others factors specific to the defined study area.

     An analysis of new home demand potentials within the defined study area over the next five years.

     A full survey and analysis of currently active new home programs and Class A rental apartment communities within the project market area that represent either a direct or indirect source of competitive influence.

     A review of projects in the development planning pipeline that could pose some degree of competitive influence on the proposed development.

  23. The development of this area and these intersections is going to happen as President Smith and Village Manager Peterson indicated so I think the question should be does the SportsPlex give the community the chance to have input on the quality of safety that needs to be achieved with any development of that area.

    Based on the willingness of the management team and village to receive input and to keep the community informed I think this is the best option for growth that also meets the community’s standards.

  24. Pleasant Valley is a twisty hilly road in that area.

    You would never guess from just driving down IL Rte 176 & IL Rte 47.

  25. The SportsPlex option is maintaining environmental integrity as well as soliciting public input, how many residential or retail developers typically do that?

    The area will develop but quicker than one might think, 80% of residential growth in McHenry County has happened in that corridor.

    It’s coming and those roads should be addressed before it does.

    Plus the village trustees already indicated that growth and development are happening in that corridor and that there is and has been a plan on improving and developing those roads/intersections and they are looking at viable options for doing so.

  26. You have to understand that development without a tif would provide revenue for the County and the schools. Revenue for the county and schools will NOT be possible now for 35 years in that prime portion of developable land, because ALL the property tax revenue, ALL of it for 35 years, must be paid by law to Lakewood management for them to give away to developers as they wish.

    If development were ‘coming’ as Teagen asserts, then the tif is illegal.
    Tif’s must pass the ‘but-for’ test. They claim that no development would happen there ‘but-for’ creating a legal entity which places economic burden on all neighbors and County citizens for 35 years(paying all costs of schooling tif children), but keeps all rewards (and the rewards are HUGE) for themselves.

  27. The Village should have a lot more analytical information in their website than they already do about the TIF.

    To develop that TIF Impact Study, SB Friedman has, or hopefully has, a lot of data that’s not included in the study, which has not been posted on the village website.

    The justification for the TIF can be drilled down to parcel level data.

    Where do you see parcel level data on the village website or in the TIF Impact Study?

    One place.

    The very last page.

    Appendix 2: Summary of EAV (by PIN)
    Count – PIN – 2013 EAV
    01 – 13-32-100-034 [1] – $164,490
    02 – 13-32-200-003 – $7,555
    03 – 13-32-200-011 – $165,839
    04 – 13-32-200-012 – $5,024
    05 – 13-32-200-013 – $124
    06 – 13-32-200-015 – $4,502
    07 – 13-33-100-001 – $15,137
    08 – 13-33-100-007 – $456
    09 – 13-33-100-008 – $768
    10 – 13-33-100-013 – $7,389
    11 – 13-33-100-015 – $9,778
    12 – 13-33-300-001 – $60,753
    13 – 13-33-300-003 – $237,772
    14 – 13-33-300-005 – $81,262
    15 – 13-33-300-007 – $64,615
    16 – 13-33-300-009 – $77,354
    17 – 13-33-300-011 – $0
    18 – 13-33-300-014 [1] – $0
    19 – 13-33-300-015 – $469
    20 – 13-33-300-017 – $300
    21 – 13-33-300-018 – $334
    22 – 13-33-300-019 – $144
    23 – 13-33-400-002 – $23,858
    24 – 13-33-400-004 – $87,988
    25 – 13-33-400-009 – $16,172
    26 – 13-33-451-001 – $27,632
    27 – 13-33-451-002 – $27,632
    28 – 13-33-451-003 – $73,390
    29 – 13-33-452-001 – $31,313
    30 – 13-33-452-002 – $31,355
    31 – 18-03-100-025 – $103,894
    32 – 18-03-100-026 – $140,000
    33 – 18-04-101-001 – $46,249
    34 – 18-04-126-011 – $936
    35 – 18-04-200-002 – $105,928
    36 – 18-04-200-003 – $173,210
    37 – 18-04-200-007 [1] – $3,027
    [1] Division Pending
    Total EAV: $1,796,649

    That’s nice.

    Where’s the spreadsheet showing EAV per parcel for the previous 23 years.

    Where’s the spreadsheet showing forecasted EAV per parcel for the next 23 years?

    Then compare past to future.

    Does it make any sense that EAV would remain frozen or declining without the TIF?

    Do the same for Extension (taxes paid) per parcel.

    Next, how about a map identifying each parcel.

    Nope, no map identifying each parcel in the TIF Eligibility study.

    There is a map that combines parcels.

    But the combined parcels don’t even identify which parcel falls where.

    So we should have a map identifying each parcel, so we can learn more and make judgements on the alleged irregular shapes and such.

    How about the blighted buildings are they identified specifically in the TIF eligibility study?

    Nope.

    The blighted buildings should be identified by parcel, and by address, and somehow so the taxpayer can figure out exactly what buildings are blighted.

    We could go on and on.

    There’s not even basic information to make an informed decision on the validity of this TIF.

    The TIF Eligibility Study is fine as far as it goes, but we need the information that went into the study too.

    And we don’t have it.

  28. So the TIF Eligibility Study is more like a 45 page summary report.

    We need a full detailed report.

  29. I believe tif confers higher powers of condemnation/eminent domain seizure of property. Those landowners may be told one thing by Lakewood management, like for example no mention of 98 low income housing units, but may encounter a rude shock when their property is seized at a price decided by Lakewood as fair, and they are handed their hats. That may be the $1 million line item for relocation costs, to shut people up.

  30. I was referring to the residential growth in McHenry County which is going to expand the population by the tens of thousands over the next 5 years and the cost for supporting that population growth. Now there is economic expansion to support this population increase that can be achieved through retail or residential developers but that will most likely be slow and stagnant and harmful for the community.

    This use of funds and community space allows for community standards to be meet. Look at what happened to the areas in Lake in the Hills and Algonquin with Randall Road. More strip mall development is a serious danger. This type of development would not and could not happen without a project that has the social and environmental values that the SportsPlex Proposal contains.

  31. Here’s what else would be helpful to analyze the proposed TIF.

    The Lakewood IL Route 47 / IL Route 176 TIF Eligibility Study lists 2013 EAV for each of 37 parcels.

    What about the Taxing Districts?

    IT would be good to have the 2013 EAV for each Taxing District (County, Conservation District, Township, etc.).

    Meaning the overall EAV for each Taxing District, not limited to the TIF District.

    Next, take each Taxing District individually, and divide the TIF EAV / Total EAV, to determine what percentage of each Taxing District EAV that falls within the TIF.

    For example Conservation District TIF EAV / Total Conservation District EAV.

    The result would be small.

    Next, do the same for actual Taxes.

    That result would also be small.

    Therein lies one of the magical powers of TIF.

    The TIF freezes EAV in each TIF parcel.

    There are obviously several Taxing Districts for each parcel of land (County, Conservation District, Township, etc.).

    Due to the TIF EAV Freeze, the incremental revenue comes from the parcels falling outside the TIF District (keeping in mind that can be offset by what would happen if there was no TIF) but within each Taxing District.

    And the majority of parcels in a Taxing District fall outside the TIF District (I supposed there can be exceptions maybe a huge TIF).

    For example a small number of the parcels in the Conservation District actually fall within the proposed Lakewood TIF.

    Consider all the parcels in all the Taxing Districts that will be funneling a small amount of money per parcel to the TIF District.

    That can result in a large sum of money for the TIF District at a small cost to each parcel in the Taxing Districts.

    So you have a lot of parcels outside the TIF District, and a lot of Taxing Districts in each parcel, that funnel money to the village TIF.

    Because EAV of each parcel in the TIF, meaning EAV of each Taxing District in each parcel, is frozen.

    But EAV outside the TIF District is not frozen.

    And tax revenue Extension for each Taxing District is not frozen.

    Again that’s in a silo, there are all sorts of things than can occur in addition to that scenario to minimize or eliminate the TIF tax hike for those outside the TIF District but within the same Taxing Districts.

  32. If TIF districts caused all the growth in value on existing properties within their bounds, there is no cost to taxing agencies and no effect on tax bills.

    So any project must be thoroughly scrutinized by residents and village officials, as is being done.

  33. The term is LEED certified, Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design.

  34. It is factually inaccurate to,state that tif causing growth in value within their borders has no effect on tax rates and tax amounts for all citizens outside the tif.

    When new residential units and commercial establishments are created, the tif will pay zero for all the support services needed to accommodate that new growth.

    Most egregious of these tif subsidies will be the charges to non- Lakewood taxpayers to subsidize the children of the tif in D200 (where Lakewood children are not assigned now, and Lakewood taxpayers contribute no tax dollars toward).

    But other costs which would not exist but-for the tif will be subsidized by all residents of McHenry County.

    Those include roads, police, fire and rescue, MCC, MCCD, tort liability costs, and more.

    Look at how costs have risen on your tax bill for all County services in the last few years.

    Now imagine 35 years of such tax rate increases .

  35. Why would there be residential growth in an area in which tax rates are now 4% of total home value, and which will rise more rapidly due to the subsidies needed to pay for tif?

  36. If Lakewood is telling truth, that no growth would occur but for the tif, the only self defense left to taxpayers is to blanket the area with tifs.

    Then no additional funding could go to schools and other taxing bodies.

    Then they would be forced to rein in their spending.

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