Clarendon Hills Board Delays Downtown TIF Study

An ordinance that would have been the first step toward establishing a tax-increment financing (TIF) district in downtown Clarendon Hills was tabled by village trustees last week, though the Village Board did express interest in the TIF if and when the time is right.

The ordinance, which was discussed at the board’s Nov. 21 meeting at , would have authorized a consultant to perform the mandatory study of feasibility for a fee not to exceed $24,300. Village President Tom Karaba and the trustees agreed that now was not the time to pay for the study, since the establishment of the TIF is not on the village’s front burner.

“TIF is probably going to be needed, but we’re just early,” Karaba said. “I think if this was in front of us in six months … that’s probably a good time to relook at this.”

Director of community development Mike Brown said the $24,300 rate for the feasibility study was by far the best quote the village got from a credible firm. He said he could not guarantee that rate would be available in the future.

”I would think they’re probably giving good rates because it’s a slow time for them,” Brown said.

A TIF is a tool municipalities use to stimulate “an area that needs particular assistance” and meets certain criteria under state law, village manager Randy Recklaus said. A TIF fund is meant to pay for itself and often starts with a village loan. Public improvements, new developments, and renovated existing facades are among the projects paid for with the TIF fund, which is kept full by new tax revenue owed by the landowners in the improved district. 

“You’re borrowing from the future success of the property,” Recklaus said.

Recklaus said to picture a $100,000 property that pays $2,000 in property taxes before the establishment of a TIF. If, as a result of TIF improvements, the value of the building climbs to $150,000 and the owner then owes $3,000 in taxes, the first $2,000 would go to the various government bodies as it did before the TIF, and the additional $1,000 would go to the TIF fund for more district improvements.

In addition to the low consulting rate, Recklaus said getting the feasibility study out of the way would allow the village to set up a TIF quicker when the board decides the time is right.

“We could pull the trigger in a couple of months,” Recklaus said.

Trustee Paul Pedersen said he thinks now is not the time for the study because of the village’s current fiscal condition.

“I would regard this as a fairly expensive tool to have in our toolbox,” Pedersen said.

Trustees Allan Alongi and Ed Reid wanted more information about how a TIF would be used to improve downtown before spending on the feasibility study.

Recklaus said that unlike the village’s “single-purpose” TIF on Ogden Avenue, which was set up to attract a couple of car dealerships, a downtown TIF would seek to make the central business district “a better version of itself.”

Recklaus said façade improvement grants, streetscape improvements, and development incentives are among the programs that could be funded by a TIF. The village manager said the old police station property, the vacant land across from , and the area behind are spots where new development could take place to the benefit of the entire downtown.

“The goal is to make the market bigger; to get more activity,” Recklaus said.

Trustees want to look back at the 2006 downtown master plan before voting on any TIF-related ordinances.

“It would help us if we knew a little bit more where we were headed,” Alongi said.

Village staff provided a sketch of a possible TIF district (pictured above) that would be centered by Burlington Avenue and would include the downtown properties located on Walker and Prospect avenues and Ann Street. Recklaus said the TIF boundaries are negotiable and could be redrawn if the board desires.