|
Why Set Up A TIF Oversight Panel?
One of the most common complaints about Tax Increment
Financing is that the residents and small businesses that are directly affected
by the TIF have little or no say in the process. Rarely is the public adequately
involved in the decision to establish a TIF or the process of shaping the plan.
In areas where a TIF is already in place, those who are directly affected seldom
have input into how TIF dollars are spent, or what types of projects are built,
over the 23-year life of the district. To solve this problem, people across
the City are talking about establishing citizen panels – and in some cases have
established such panels -- that have the authority to influence the TIF process
from the earliest stages in their establishment all the way until the last dollar
is spent.
There’s no easy answer yet to what these panels should look
like or how communities can get them in place. But a few things are clear. TIF
oversight panels should have the authority to wield real influence in the process.
They should be inclusive of all the stakeholders in the community. They should
have full access to information about what is planned for the TIF. Finally,
they should get involved as early as possible in the process, and stay involved
throughout the life of the TIF.
In recent years, some Aldermen have begun to establish
TIF oversight panels, or groups that, under a variety of names, are actually oversight panels. The degree of inclusive
representation on these panels varies from ward to ward. In other areas, residents
have taken the initiative and organized panels, sometimes including the local
Aldermen, sometimes not. In addition, TIF oversight panels, whether organized
by elected officials or gassroots groups, have a varying
amount of full representation from all corners of the community.
The Accountability platform of NCBG TIF Reform Platform
(see page 6) is based on the concept that the
community in which a TIF district is instituted should be closely involved in
development decisions from the beginning of the TIF designation and planning
process through the entire life of the TIF district.
Although oversight panels are not mentioned in the
State TIF law, there already is a provision in Chicago’s Municipal Code that
would allow the City to set up these TIF oversight panels. According to the
City law, the Community Development Commission “may establish and define the
duties of neighborhood advisory councils to assist in any investigation, study,
survey . . . or to assist in the carrying out of a redevelopment plan.” While
this provision is not currently used, it could provide a foothold for proponents
of TIF oversight panels (Municipal Code, section 2-124-040).
Who should be on a TIF oversight panel?
In short, the TIF panel should reflect the people
who live and work in the neighborhood. Some have suggested that the oversight
panel could resemble a Local School Council, which elects its members from certain
categories. (In the LSC’s case, there are six parents,
two teacher representatives, two community representatives, the principal, and
in high schools, a student representative). In the case of a TIF district, the
composition would obviously be somewhat different. You might consider including
representatives from these categories:
Homeowners are directly affected by changes in their property
tax bills and have a long-term stake in the health of the neighborhood.
Renters form an important constituency group in many neighborhoods,
and may have a somewhat different set of concerns from those who own their own
home.
Small businesses are often directly impacted by development
in the area, and like residents, have a stake in the overall health of the community.
Corporations that have a large workforce in the area can
be major players in the overall redevelopment of a neighborhood, and should
be at the table to share information and receive direct input from other stakeholders.
You might also consider including other types of members on the oversight panel:
The Alderman. How to address the Alderman when forming
a TIF panel is one of the biggest challenges. Many people fear that the Alderman
is likely to either try to control the TIF panel by stacking the deck with individuals
he or she supports, or conversely, refuse to recognize the panel at all. Including
the Alderman as a de facto voting member without any special authority
to appoint members might be a solution. Including the Alderman would give the
panel a certain credibility that might compel him or her to recognize the panel’s
activities, but balancing that participation with a legitimate and diverse range
of other constituents would help prevent the Alderman from taking over the panel.
Community Organizations. Local organizations, churches,
civic groups, Local School Councils, park advisory councils, friends of the
local public library, and similar groups may be able to add certain organizational
skills or specific knowledge to the panel, as well as an established network
of connections that will help support the panel’s activities.
Whatever the final composition of the panel is, the members should be selected
with these goals in mind:
Encouraging broad grassroots participation
Including a variety of stakeholders in the community
Ensuring that members of the panel have a range of skills that
contribute to making the panel effective (community organizing background, connections
to local organizations, business or financial experience, knowledge of the construction
or real estate business, good speaking or organizational skills, etc.)
Keeping the number of panel members manageable so that it is
flexible enough to make adjustments as needed.
What are the roles and responsibilities of the oversight committee?
At a minimum, the responsibilities of a TIF oversight panel can
be divided into two phases:
Before the TIF is approved by the City Council:
Hold and widely publicize a series of meetings to get community
input into whether a TIF should be established, and if so, what the redevelopment
plan should and should not include.
Educate local stakeholders about what TIFs are and how they work.
Make sure the eligibility study and housing impact study are
fairly and accurately conducted.
Follow-up with the Alderman and the Dept. of Planning and Development
to ensure that the community’s suggestions are incorporated into the final plan.
Inform all community members about important steps in the process
(the public hearing at the Community Development Commission, the date of the
City Council votes, etc.)
After the TIF is approved by the City Council:
Inform the public about planned expenditures and major changes in the TIF, including developer
subsidies, public works projects, amendments to the TIF boundaries, changes
to land use or the acquisition map, and other major developments.
Hold and widely publicize meetings on key redevelopment projects
or amendments to the TIF well in advance of their introduction to City Council
and the Community Development Commission.
Help to facilitate an ongoing dialogue about what the community’s
key priorities are, and how the TIF is helping to meet those needs.
Create a user-friendly yearly report on activities in the TIF
and sponsor a public “State of the TIF” meeting at least once a year.
Help register individuals for the TIF Interested Parties Registry.
These responsibilities would create an advisory body that
would help to oversee the activities of the TIF and facilitate community input
into the City’s activities, but they wouldn’t produce a body with the formal
authority to approve or reject specific proposals. Ultimately, oversight panels
need to have the authority to make binding decisions on key issues, including:
The ability to veto the creation of a TIF that doesn’t serve
the needs of the community.
The ability to accept or reject a TIF subsidy to a particular
developer.
The ability to accept or reject changes to the land use or land
acquisition plans within the TIF.
How can a community establish an oversight committee with “teeth”?
There are two ways of transforming your community
oversight panel from a group interested in the TIF issue to a recognized power
with the authority to exert real control over the TIF:
"Bottom Up" Approach: In some neighborhoods, it might
make sense to begin the process of organizing TIF oversight panels right away,
before they are formally recognized by the City. By including a
stakeholders with a power base in the community, the panels could attract
some attention to their conclusions based on the number of voters and taxpayers
they represent. Ultimately, these existing panels would become the basis for
a city-wide ordinance that formalizes their powers.
"Top Down" Approach: Rather than fighting for oversight
panels on a case-by-case basis, groups from across the City could organize around
a campaign to pass a City ordinance that establishes binding oversight
panels in every TIF district. Once the ordinance is passed, community
organizations would work to ensure that the panels are fairly and effectively
implemented.
Each way of moving forward has its pluses and minuses:
| |
"Bottom
Up" Approach |
"Top
Down" Approach |
| Speed |
Work can begin immediately. |
No panels are in place until a Citywide ordinance is
passed. |
| Power |
Aldermen and City may not pay attention to the panel’s
recommendations. |
Once an ordinance is passed, the panel will have legally
defined powers. |
| Public “Buy-In” |
The process of creating panels from the grassroots
might give the public more of a feeling of ownership. |
People may be suspicious of a plan that looks like
another program coming down from City Hall. |
| Good Models |
Creating a few real-world “pilot projects” to test
which ideas work best will help a city-wide campaign to advocate for the
best model. |
Without any working panels in place, it might be difficult
to create an effective Citywide law. |
| Fairness |
Some neighborhoods will have oversight panels right
away, and some won’t. |
All neighborhoods will have the ability to create oversight
panels at the same time. |
Either approach requires dialogue among a wide range of community
organizations from across the City in order to share good ideas about what TIF
oversight panels should look like, as well as to build a power base to win the
real battle – more community participation in the creation and implementation
of TIFs. In the end, a combination of these two approaches
will probably be the most effective in bringing about real reform.
Organizing Your Local Oversight Panel: A Checklist
If your community does decide it want to move forward
with plans to create a local oversight panel, here’s a list of steps you might
want to take to make sure setting up your panel goes smoothly:
Inform all the organizations in your neighborhood about
your plans to begin the process of creating an oversight panel, including those
groups with whom you don’t always agree. The process should be as inclusive
as possible from the beginning.
Hold a community meeting to discuss the proposal, inform people
about TIFs, and begin to lay out a strategy. Be sure
to reach out to individual residents and small business owners as well as organizations.
If possible, co-sponsor the meeting with at least one other local group.
Encourage the people who came to the public meeting to sign up
for the TIF Interested Parties Registry.
Establish a core team of interested parties to coordinate the
creation of the panel. These are not necessarily going to be the same people
who serve on the panel once it is in place.
Get a hold of the key documents for your TIF (the redevelopment
plan, the eligibility study, the housing impact study, etc.) and learn which
projects have been funded with TIF dollars so far.
If they haven’t attended the public meeting, have the core team
meet with your Alderman and the Dept. of Planning and Development to discuss
the oversight panel.
Draft a plan that lays out the roles and responsibilities of
the oversight panel, along with how members will be selected. Circulate the
plan for public comment among local organizations and interested individuals.
Amend and ratify the plan at a public meeting.
Select members to serve on the panel according to the plan agreed
upon by the community.
Inform the local media about the existence of the TIF oversight
panel.
If there is a public hearing on your TIF at the Community Development
Commission or the City Council, organize a local delegation to testify about
the creation of the panel.
Push the Alderman to formally recognize the TIF oversight panel
and write it into the text of the redevelopment plan for the TIF. Even if your
Alderman supports this idea, there is likely to be opposition from the Dept.
of Planning and Development, which is wary about putting this sort of true citizen
participation in writing.
|
