Woodstock Tax Increment Financing District Hearing Yields No Substantive Discussion by Joint Review Board

Tax districts would be denied any increases in tax revenue generated in this 562 acre swath of Woodstock for 23 years. It represents 5% of Woodstock’s current assessed valuation.

At three o’clock representatives from the following tax districts who would be negatively affected by the proposed 562 acre, 536 structure Woodstock TIF District met at City Hall:

  • McHenry County College
  • Woodstock School District 200
  • Woodstock Fire Protection District
  • Dorr Township
  • McHenry County
  • City of Woodstock

This is my third such meeting and it ran like clockwork.

The consultant made his presentation explaining how the area in question meet the qualifications in state law.  (Of course, as I pointed out during Public Comment, any part of the State of Illinois meet the “loose as a goose” qualifications.)

The consultant emphasized the TIF would not impose “any new taxes within the area” [emphasis added].  That is correct, I pointed out in Public Comment, but everyone outside the TIF district would see their taxes raised to make up for the last tax dollars siphoned off for TIF purposes.

Bonnie Gable

A pre-selected member of the public, Bonnie Gable was selected on a unanimous vote.

Susan Handelsman gave a reasoned analogy with  an annuity, which I’ll print tomorrow.

She is  a veteran of the Lakewood Tax Increment Financing District fight.

The only Woodstock resident to speak was Molly Oakford, identifying herself as a  physical therapist.

Molly Oakford

The thirty-year resident objected to the uneven surface of the Woodstock Square.

She also wanted a comparison of how the soon-concluding TIF turned out, compared to the goals enunciated in the previous qualifying report.

“If would be nice to have the hard numbers for what has happened in the last twenty-three years,” she said.

The consultant told her that the information was available on the State web site.

Later Handelsman pointed out that the State Comptroller’s information does not go back to the beginning of the current Woodstock TIF because the data there “only goes back to 1997.”

Oakford said, “I’m interested in easy access.

“I am someone who stays current with city government.  I haven’t seen any evaluation of the current TIF.

“I’d like to see a comparison [of TIF 1] goals versus performance.”

Speaking a second time, Handelsman described the current TIF “as an abysmal failure” and since it began ten years before the real estate crash, that could not be used to explain its failure.


Comments

Woodstock Tax Increment Financing District Hearing Yields No Substantive Discussion by Joint Review Board — 3 Comments

  1. To truly appreciate how stupid these TIF scams are, the State that first started doing them, has now banned them.

  2. Correction: TIF data at Comptroller site only goes back to 2010. Woodstock TIF 1 was formed in 1997.

    If any taxpayers harbor naive hopes that TIF 2 will actually create taxable assessed value in 23 years (35 years), they should be aware that Woodstock Mayor and Council have decided to roll more than 75% of TIF 1 into TIF 2.

    That means, the NEW EAV Woodstock promised 20 years ago is NOT going onto the tax rolls! 3/4+ of TIF 1 property will now not be taxable for 35 years, or more, if history repeats itself, again.

    This fact was not addressed at the JRB. But they had the brass to promise that THIS TIF will create new taxable EAV in 23 years.

  3. The ‘citizen representative’ Bonnie Gabel has not made her contact info public.

    Woodstock City has not made her contact info public, despite my request.

    What good is a citizen representative who won’t speak to citizens?

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