Today’s news: Thanks, but no thanks …

December 13, 2007
By Billy Dennis

I’m getting a head start with some late night Journal Star linkage:

  • Paul Vallas, the education guru, is still willing to work with District 150 for free, even if District balks at hiring consultants associated with Vallas at the $600,000 fee that’s been quoted. Take a look at PrairieCelt’s post about some of the on things district 150 does spend money.
  • If some members of the Peoria City Council were bewildered at the rules that homeowners have to live under when it comes to make renovations and other improvements to their homes, they need  to remember that it isn’t the new form-based codes that are the problem. Most of these silly restrictions have been in place for years. The new codes loosen things up a bit, but not much. I’ve complained about restrictive zoning and building codes for years, but I am constantly assured that making sure people don’t have enclosed front porches, or heaven forbid, a storage shed, is the last barrier between civilization and urban dystopia.
  • My sympathies to the friends and family of Blythe Ann O’Sullivan. All she wanted to do was help.
  • Actually, Peoria Heights residents, the proposed TIF will raise your taxes. Businesses that now pay taxes will move to the TIF and stop paying taxes. That means the rest of the village will have to pay more taxes to make up the difference. Don’t let your mayor get away with telling you any different. Peoria is sick with TIFs and residents feel taxed to death with nothing to show for it. Why you mayor wants to turn Peoria Heights into a mini-Peoria is beyond me. Oh, and the TIF will also turn your little school district into a mini-District 150. Enjoy.

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One Response to “ Today’s news: Thanks, but no thanks … ”

  1. prego man on December 16, 2007 at 3:13 am

    Regarding the proposed TIF in Peoria Heights:

    Billy, it appears you have no idea what a TIF truly is. No one will move into the TIF and “not pay taxes.” What planet are you from? If they are drawing $50,000.00 off of that property now, they will continue to do the same in the future 23 years. The only change is that as the property increases in value, the additional taxes generated will go into the TIF. What don’t you understand about that?

    Additionally, the Heights is looking to have commercial retail development there, which they don’t know. That will pay sales tax that is presently NOT being paid from that property. That’s where the municipalities get the vast majority of their money from, anyhow. So, if anything, this plan will bring MORE money into the Village coffers than before.

    On top of that, if the building is assessed at $1Million now, and because of the TIF it sells for, say, $4 Million, the assessed valuation will jump $3Million right off the bat, substantailly increasing the taxes for the taxing bodies over the next 23 years.

    Before you go off telling stories about TIFs, it might be good for you to get your facts straight. Any business moving into a TIF will almost certainly pay MORE in taxes as the assessed valuation goes up.

    The TIF will pump a good deal more money into the school system, per the above reference in raising the assessed valuation immediately, and the mayor there already said he’ll take it to the board to approve either putting an inflation figure on the value of the building through the years, or sharing in the sales tax revenue generated.

    It sounds like a great plan to me. On one hand, you stare at an empty warehouse building that likely will not be sold for years to come; or you take steps to build UP the tax base by putting development there. What’s so hard to understand about that?