Here’s what you should know about a special property tax district in Belleville
The property taxing district in Belleville known as TIF 3 will get to see its 47th birthday just as city leaders wanted.
It took the approval of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the General Assembly and 11 local taxing bodies to keep the district afloat. Otherwise, the district would have expired on Dec. 31. Instead, the 12-year extension will push its expiration back to December 2033.
The TIF, or tax increment financing, district was established in 1986.
It’s expected to produce about $13 million in property tax revenue annually and half of that will be distributed in varying amounts to 11 taxing districts that have territory inside TIF 3 district, which covers most of the city of Belleville.
Here are the 11 local districts that will receive funding from the district: Belle Valley School District 119, Belleville School District 118, Belleville Township High School District 201, East St. Louis School District 189, Harmony-Emge School District 175, High Mount School District 116, St. Clair County, Signal Hill School District 181, Southwestern Illinois College, Whiteside School District 115 and Wolf Branch School District 113.
The Belleville City Council on Dec. 20 unanimously authorized intergovernmental agreements with the 11 taxing districts to keep TIF 3 alive. Earlier this year, the city asked the 11 taxing districts to grant the city’s request to extend TIF 3 for 12 years and all 11 districts agreed.
Belleville also needed state lawmakers to approve the plan and the General Assembly supported it during the fall veto session. Pritzker signed the legislation on Nov. 30.
TIF process
In a TIF district, property values are frozen at the level when the district is created. Any additional revenue generated by a rise in property values is channeled into a special fund earmarked for infrastructure improvements and economic incentives in the district.
The tax “increment” is the “difference between the amount of property tax revenue generated before TIF district designation and the amount of property tax revenue generated after TIF designation,” according to the Illinois Municipal League.
TIF supporters say the money is used to improve infrastructure and public buildings, help raise commercial property values, and assist businesses that produce significant retail sales tax revenue needed to run the day-to-day operations of the city.
TIF opponents say the sites getting TIF assistance would be developed anyway and that it allows a local government to pick “winners” that receive TIF grants while other companies don’t get any financial incentive.
How to spend the money
Money generated by TIF 3 has been used to help pay for a new Belleville police headquarters on West Main Street, a new firehouse off Illinois 15, renovations at City Hall that brought it up to standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act, sewer system improvements, and streetscape projects.
The money also has been used to give grants to businesses.
Mayor Patty Gregory has said she supports TIF 3 as a way to promote economic development.
During the mayoral campaign last spring she said she wanted a “special audit” to be done before she would support a plan to extend the district for 12 years.
Finance Director Jamie Maitret has said the city has its finances audited every year and that the results have been reviewed with Gregory since she took office on May 1.
Mark Eckert, the previous mayor who was defeated by Gregory in the April election, said in the campaign that he supported extending TIF 3 by 12 years and his administration began the process before the election.
This story was originally published December 27, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
