The Hinsdale Township District 86 School Board unanimously opposed plans for a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district planned by the Village of Clarendon Hills, during a special meeting on Wednesday, July 24
The 55th Street TIF District proposal, located along the north and south sides of 55th Street between Western Avenue and Kingery Highway, is a plan by Clarendon Hills to inject more revenue into the area to spur new development.
The district, which contains approximately 70 parcels assessed at a value of over $14 million, could last up to 23 years and experience 3.5%-5% annual growth, according to the Village, increasing the value of the area to $30-$40 million upon completion.
District 86’s tax base would be locked at the land’s current value until the end of the special tax district, while any increase in taxes in the area would go to fund the TIF, according to counsel from Robbins Schwartz, a legal firm hired to represent District 86.
Despite the school board’s opposition to the plans, the establishment of the TIF comes down to the Clarendon Hills Village Board which is nearing the end of the planning phase.
“The bad news is school districts do not have a veto of TIF even though they’re probably the most financially impacted by a TIF district,” Scott Ginsburg, a partner at Robbins Schwartz, told the school board Wednesday. “Municipalities have wide discretion in this matter meaning that even if 100% of the board members voted against the TIF the village could still get it in pretty easily.”
One of the school board members’ concerns is that the area around 55 Street will rise in property value with or without the TIF in place, ostensibly removing a significant revenue stream over the next two decades.
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“This area over the past five years has seen annual growth, there was one blip year in 2020 … not only is it growing, but it’s exceeding the village as a whole,” Ginsburg said.
Part of Clarendon Hills TIF plans includes upgrading the district’s infrastructure, such as stormwater improvements and road repavement to attract new development.
District 86 is left in a precarious position on how to influence the decision-making going forward; they can negotiate with the Village to hash out a settlement or exert political pressure amongst the shared constituency of the school district and Clarendon Hills, Ginsburg said.
The Board’s July 24 meeting itself was an act to exert political pressure on Clarendon Hills to bring the school district’s concerns to the table if the TIF is enacted.
The average homeowner in District 86 could see an annual $24 tax increase, according to estimates provided by Robbins Schwartz. These increases are not isolated to Clarendon Hills, but the entire school district tax base, Hinsdale D86 Board President Catherine Greenspon said.
“We do not serve the same constituents, there is overlap, but the D86 constituency is much larger than this TIF district, the entirety of the D86 footprint outside Clarendon Hills and unincorporated Clarendon Hills will absorb this tax burden,” Greenspon said. “It’s everybody, Burr Ridge, Hinsdale [and] parts of Willowbrook.”
The Board directed its legal team to request Clarendon Hills delay a joint review board meeting scheduled for July 31, so that parties affected by the TIF can respond and provide feedback.
“What we do know for sure and definitively is that taxpayers will be impacted … what we don’t know is if development is guaranteed,” D86 board member Jeff Waters said.