Here are the minutes of what is called the Joint Review Board meeting.
This is where overlapping tax districts get their say about a proposed Tax Increment Financing District.
Here are the minutes of what is called the Joint Review Board meeting.
This is where overlapping tax districts get their say about a proposed Tax Increment Financing District.
Here’s an elegant solution.
Redistrict the schools such that the Lakewood tif children are sent to Lakewood schools, into which Lakewood taxpayers presently pay.
This is surely equitable, and Lakewood should have no problem assuming a burden they claim can be handled with “redistricting” some of the tif revenues to compensate the assigned school district.
lol Dream on, Susan!
The minutes are not on the village website.
They should be on the village website.
So the taxpayers were represented by Keith DuShane.
He was appointed Public Member of the Joint Review Board at the meeting.
Keith DuShane is a partner in Legacy Fine Custom Homes, Crystal Lake, Illinois.
http://www.legacyhomes.net
No minutes of any Taxing Districts or DuShane saying anything at the meeting.
Taxing Districts and DuShane didn’t say anything noteworthy?
The village hand picked guy representing the taxpayers had no noteworthy questions or comments, no objections?
With all that has been brought up on this blog, nothing to say.
Taxing Districts present at the meeting:
Grafton Road District – Tom Poznanski, Road Commissioner
Woodstock District 200 – Michael Moan, Superintendent
McHenry County – Scott Hartman, Assistant Administrator
Crystal Lake Park District – Jack Sebesta
Others present:
SB Friedman Development Advisers – Geoff Dickerson and Sarah Kirk
Village of Lakewood – Erin Smith, President; Catherine Peterson, Village Manager; Shannon Andrews, Deputy Village Manager; Michael Smoron, Village Attorney; Janice Hansen, Village Clerk.
Northwest Herald – Emily Coleman
Title of Minutes:
Village of Lakewood, Illinois
Proposed Redevelopment Plan and Project for the Illinois Route 47 and Illinois Route 176 Redevelopment Project Area.
Joint Review Board Meeting
Friday, December 12, 2014, 2PM
Crystal Lake Park District “West Beach” Building, 2300 Lake Avenue, Village of Lakewood, IL.
The Village stripped all 2014 and prior Agendas and Calendar items from its website.
The Village has stripped all 2013 and prior Minutes from its website.
The Village has no attachments for any Board meetings on its website, meaning any documents which the Village has provided for Board review should be also made available to the public.
The village does not tape its board meetings.
Lousy transparency.
They provide lousy transparency yet are voting to take a planned $66 Million in principal plus any interest on bonds issued of taxpayer money.
What do you think their transparency is going to be like in spending the $66 Million.
A Taxing District in desperate need of a watchdog.
The job is wide open.
Lakewood residents aren’t too upset and questioning of their officials (with a couple notable exceptions, honorable men who put truth before personal gain).
This is because the major subsidization funding required of taxpayers will be from the school district assigned the children of Lakewood tif
It makes most sense for all children of Lakewood (including tif children) to attend the same school district as Lakewood taxpayers support.
If Lakewood agreed to a very simple re-districting (D200 would simply re-draw its southern boundary at Rte 176, East of Dean St.) and persuaded the school district to whom they currently pay all tax dollars, then it would be very fair, as those who will benefit financially will bear the costs of the children’s education.
The affected school districts could of course make deals with Lakewood to be compensated accordingly.
They have more leverage on Lakewood, they have a relationship with Lakewood, and they will benefit as Lakewood benefits from this tif. None of that can be said for D200.
Now, if Lakewood residents find out they can’t foist the cost of schooling tif children onto non-related neighboring district which will not receive any benefit from their tif, Lakewood residents might be a little more interested in the political process.
One of the purposes of the Joint Review Board Meeting is to discuss Taxing District concerns.
There are no notes in the Lakewood Joint Review board meeting minutes of any such concern from the Woodstock Superintendent.
So now you know the process for the next proposed TIF, and we we know there will likely be more in McHenry County.
Maybe there are other proposed TIFs now, who knows, as each taxing district does not have a watchdog.
I wonder how many days in advance of the meeting the Woodstock Superintendent was notified of the meeting?
The Woodstock Superintendent said in a Northwest Herald article he did not vote, because his board had not voted on the matter.
In fact there are no notes in the Lakewood Joint Review Board meeting minutes about any concern from anyone.
Since it was a public meeting presumably the public could have attended, but how again, how many days in advance of the meeting did Lakewood post the notice on its website?
The Lakewood Joint Review Board meeting about the TIF was not videotaped so we don’t have a recorded video / audio history of what happened.
Plus although it may be simple to draw a boundary on a piece of paper, it’s a huge political process that involves a lot of moving parts to redraw boundaries in Illinois public education.
Northwest Herald
Route 47, 176 TIF district proposal moves forward in Lakewood
Friday, Dec. 12, 2014
By Emily Coleman
http://www.nwherald.com/2014/12/12/route-47-176-tif-district-proposal-moves-forward-in-lakewood/akdatrp
It becomes now a matter of all people of this county pitted against one another as adversaries, scrapping for water or tax abatement or subsidy funding, while the municipal leaders position themselves as winners no matter the outcomes; profiting from our taxes, and protected from scrutiny by us as we are fully engrossed in our adversarial scrabbling for survival.