Representatives from taxing bodies in Oak Park recommended approval Wednesday afternoon of proposed changes to the Madison Street tax increment financing plan to allow the local school district to construct a new administration center with the tax revenues.
The Joint Review Board, which is made up of representatives from each taxing body within the business district and an appointed member of the public, voted 8-1 at a meeting in favor of the proposal without any discussion of the terms outlined in an agreement between the Oak Park Village Board and Oak Park Elementary School District 97.
In October, the village and school district entered into an agreement to allow an exchange of properties within the Madison Street TIF district and the construction of a new administration center for the school district using TIF funds.
Tod Altenburg, chief school business official for the Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200, cast the sole no vote for measure.
“Fundamentally, I just believe TIFs are for stimulating economic growth in the community,” Altenburg said after the meeting.
Under state statute, the village needed to convene the Joint Review Board to consider and make a recommendation on the amendment.
As part of the proposal, the village would transfer ownership of a property at 260 W. Madison St. to District 97, which would, in turn, transfer ownership of its current administration center at 970 W. Madison St. to the village.
A new administration center would then be constructed at 260 W. Madison St. using up to $6.3 million in owed and projected TIF revenues collected by the village, according to the document. A 1995 agreement between the two bodies calls for the village to reimburse District 97 for revenue losses from the Madison district’s formation.
In addition, the school district would sell its warehouse and maintenance facility at 541 W. Madison St. and relocate those operations to the village’s Public Works Center at 201 South Blvd. for a 40-year time period, according to the document.
During the meeting, community members voiced their opposition to the plan, saying that using TIF revenues to build an administrative building did not meet objectives outlined in the state’s TIF law.
“The purpose of a TIF is to rehab and recondition existing structures … for the purpose of business development,” said Oak Park resident Julie Samuels. “(This plan is) not contributing to the business development on Madison Street, which has, by the way, become blighted during the life of the TIF. … This building is not going to do anything about the blight.”
Sharon Patchak-Layman, a District 200 board member and former District 97 board member, added that another part of the TIF law says municipalities should not use the funds to build facilities for municipal offices “unless the building is slated for redevelopment because of damage.”
“I do not see that that building is in such poor condition that TIF funds need to be used in order to change the location of that building or use TIF funds to provide a different structure,” Patchak-Layman said to the board. “It’s irresponsible to say that this building is so important to the business development along Madison Street that every taxing body that is part of my tax bill should forgo a distribution from the (TIF).”
The Village Board will hold a public hearing on the matter on Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the council chambers at village hall. The board will then decide whether to approve the amendment.
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