The Salem City Council Monday night approved creation of the TIF-4 residential and business zone.
The decision came after some business owners asked for a delay, while three who are completing building renovations in the Downtown TIF spoke in favor of the assistance allowing their projects to become reality.
Three spoke asking for a delay in the vote. Neal Smith of Little Egypt Golf Cars told the council he doesn’t think the city is ready for TIF-4, noting he is still having problems working with the city on the Enterprise Zone. He says there is no evidence the city can manage the new district and there are unanswered questions. Smith felt it would be better to wait to vote on the new zone until the new council and city manager gets their feet on the ground. Paul Jones of Big R and Roy Landers who runs various businesses in Salem said they were neither for nor against the new TIF, but they don’t know enough about it.
Paul Riehm of Sterling Avenue, Alex Williams who has renovated the old coffee shop at Main and Broadway and Jared Campbell who is renovating a building on West Main all said their projects would not have been possible without TIF assistance.
The council passed five of the ordinances creating the district, removing a city councilman’s property, moving some parcels from the downtown TIF.
The sixth ordinance was tabled. It will detail surplussing properties that would not benefit from the TIF to allow property tax increases on those properties to still go to the taxing bodies. Economic Development Director Leah Dellicarpini says work is underway on an agreement.
“We will have an intergovernmental agreement. I think that’s the right thing to do,” Dellicarpini said. “Do I think we can come to some agreement on language? Yeah, I do. I think that’s the nature of any contract. You bat it around until all parties can live with the language.”
Dellicarpini emphasized no taxing district is losing current revenue.
“Realize we’re not taking any bread out of the basket. When TIF goes into place, they’re still capturing their tax rate on that EAV. If it were just a pure TIF it would capture all the new growth and that incremental growth and put it in the fund. We’re surplussing a portion of that to them so that they can grow along with us. Now, the decision to raise taxes is not with me or with the TIF.”
Meanwhile, Dellicarpini is open to accept residential and business proposals in the large district that starts near I-57 and Boone Street goes south to Main Street, east to the area of the Union Pacific tracks and also down to the Marion County Fairgrounds area.
The city had already approved two agreements prior to putting TIF into place. They are with Glenn Henderson of Salem Tire and with the developer of the new apartments on Airport Road. The city has also agreed to work with Micah Mulvany who is going to building a small new subdivision at Lake and Marion Streets.
The council also approved a downtown TIF agreement with Jeannell Charman doing business as Salem Travel. The city will reimburse Charman $2,912 for a tightly scoped facade update once it is completed.
