It was
addition by subtraction.
The
departure of Springfield Attorney Dan Schuering opened the door to every taxing
body in Fairfield getting paid what they were promised…
You’ll
remember Schuering was the guy who called a city ordinance “an alleged
ordinance” and advised the city council on TIF matters for over two years. One
of his last pieces of legal advice was giving the green light for using $200-thousand TIF dollars for installation of
AC in the Mule Barn.
Soon after
his departure, the city was told the money could not legally be given for the
facility upgrade because the gym did not reside inside the TIF district. It
took some creative thinking to make all of the acrimony between the city and
their fellow taxing districts go away. They decided to honor their commitment
to the high school…..and, by doing so, make good on their promise to share the
TIF surplus with everyone else.
The council
still must approve the proposal, but it makes great sense and it gets everyone
pulling in the same direction for the first time in two years. In ten minutes,
the bad feelings were gone. Smiles actually were observed. There was almost a
group hug.
There is
much still to solve concerning TIF. But last night’s meeting went a long way in
making things right in Fairfield.
All it took
was addition by subtraction.
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