The End Of Acrimony

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.