July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
School board airs concerns over TIF (01/24/06)
Jay School Board
By By BETH A. CLAYTON-
Jay Schools superintendent Barbara Downing will act as chief spokesperson in negotiations with the Portland City Council in connection with a proposed tax incremental financing (TIF) district.
Downing, who had asked for the position, was chosen by the Jay School Board Monday evening.
Downing’s request came amid concerns that a TIF district will negatively affect how much revenue the school corporation stands to receive.
A meeting will take place in the coming weeks between Jay School Corporation and the City of Portland to discuss an agreement in regard to the TIF and how it will affect the school system. The agreement will be brought to the board for final approval.
A TIF district draws boundaries within a city around an area that has met state-mandated criteria for redevelopment. At the time these boundaries are drawn, the assessed valuation is frozen as far as other taxing units, such as the school corporation, are concerned. Tax revenue on new development within the district goes directly to a redevelopment commission for use on infrastructure improvements within the district.
While cities are not required to allot any money from their TIF fund to schools, a school corporation can request that some of the TIF revenues be shared via a “pass-through” to schools.
When the TIF district expires, after a set number of years, taxing bodies will again receive all property tax revenues based on the increased assessed valuation of the entire area.
If the TIF district were not in place, taxing entities would stand to gain tax revenue from new development projects. However, proponents of TIF say the those projects would not occur without the TIF in the first place.
“If you just put your blinders on and say Portland is going to grow, no matter what, I would disagree with you,” said Greg Guerrettaz, certified public accountant with Financial Solutions Group, Inc. and financial advisor to the project.
Schools do not stand to receive fewer tax dollars than in previous years, but they may not receive as much as they would if a TIF district weren’t in place. The overall financial impact of the TIF on the school district cannot be determined until the boundaries and time limit of the TIF have been established.
“I am primarily concerned about the capital projects and debt service fund portions of our budget,” explained Downing. The capital projects portion of the budget refers to money spent on items such as classroom furniture and supplies and building repairs. The debt service fund is used to pay on outstanding bonds.
Board members were also wary of the redistricting, especially since Jay School Corporation is preparing to issue an $18 million bond to cover the cost of renovations at Jay County High School.
“I think that TIF is probably a good thing for the city of Portland,” said board president Doug Inman. “But from where I sit on the school board, we need to come to an agreement we both can live with.”
“We desire to be good stewards of our city’s tax dollars,” said Downing. The fear is that without the added tax revenue from newly developing projects, there will be difficulty when it comes time to begin paying on the bonds in January 2008, which may lead to tax increases.
“I really don’t like taking the blame for raising people’s taxes,” said board member Greg Wellman.
“We all share in the responsibility of our tax rates,” said Mayor Bruce Hosier. “You folks had to float an $18 million bond to meet your needs, and we understood that. The city of Portland needs to grow now, too.”
“But the bond issue doesn’t affect how much money the city of Portland gets, but the TIF could potentially affect how much money the schools get,” said Jay School Corporation legal counsel Phil Frantz.
Hosier said the expected economic growth will be positive for students in the years to come.
“This gives the students to opportunity to grow with the community,” said Hosier. “We talk about the ‘brain drain’ in the state of Indiana, but what about the ‘brain drain’ in Portland?”
Hosier went on to say that he hopes that new jobs and an improved quality of life will encourage high school graduates to stay in Portland or return after pursuing higher education.
“I think we all can agree that economic development is important,” said Downing, “but let me be clear. We consider this corporation to be a big reason people move here.”
The Jay School Corporation is the largest employer in Jay County, with more than 500 employees.
Bryan Alexander, board vice president, said he thought it was important to note the positive affect a more developed city will have on the school corporation.
“We are all business people in some way, and I think as business people, we can understand this is a good thing. I don’t think the city is trying to rob us,” said Alexander.
Other board members remained skeptical.
“If something sparkles too bright, I better walk away,” said board member Mike Shannon. “This looks awful shiny.”
In other business, the board approved the final specifications and construction project at Jay County High School. The board will begin advertising for bids from construction companies as early as Wednesday, and will continue accepting them through Feb. 22. A contract is expected to be awarded at the Feb. 27 board meeting.
Plans call for demolition to begin March 1, with construction commencing on March 6 on the swimming pool addition and renovation. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by Sept. 15, 2007. According to the current schedule, construction crews will be out of academic areas by the start of the 2007 school year.
Additionally, board president Doug Inman and Jay Halstead were unanimously re-elected as board of finance president and secretary, respectively.
Jay Schools business manager Brad DeRome presented the financial report for 2005, which showed that Jay schools once again finished in the “black” with a budget surplus of $402,099. This is the third year in a row the school corporation has finished in a surplus position. The school corporation also earned $211,473 on cash balances in 2005. This is the most interest that has been collected since 2000, when the school corporation earned $304,081.[[In-content Ad]]
Downing, who had asked for the position, was chosen by the Jay School Board Monday evening.
Downing’s request came amid concerns that a TIF district will negatively affect how much revenue the school corporation stands to receive.
A meeting will take place in the coming weeks between Jay School Corporation and the City of Portland to discuss an agreement in regard to the TIF and how it will affect the school system. The agreement will be brought to the board for final approval.
A TIF district draws boundaries within a city around an area that has met state-mandated criteria for redevelopment. At the time these boundaries are drawn, the assessed valuation is frozen as far as other taxing units, such as the school corporation, are concerned. Tax revenue on new development within the district goes directly to a redevelopment commission for use on infrastructure improvements within the district.
While cities are not required to allot any money from their TIF fund to schools, a school corporation can request that some of the TIF revenues be shared via a “pass-through” to schools.
When the TIF district expires, after a set number of years, taxing bodies will again receive all property tax revenues based on the increased assessed valuation of the entire area.
If the TIF district were not in place, taxing entities would stand to gain tax revenue from new development projects. However, proponents of TIF say the those projects would not occur without the TIF in the first place.
“If you just put your blinders on and say Portland is going to grow, no matter what, I would disagree with you,” said Greg Guerrettaz, certified public accountant with Financial Solutions Group, Inc. and financial advisor to the project.
Schools do not stand to receive fewer tax dollars than in previous years, but they may not receive as much as they would if a TIF district weren’t in place. The overall financial impact of the TIF on the school district cannot be determined until the boundaries and time limit of the TIF have been established.
“I am primarily concerned about the capital projects and debt service fund portions of our budget,” explained Downing. The capital projects portion of the budget refers to money spent on items such as classroom furniture and supplies and building repairs. The debt service fund is used to pay on outstanding bonds.
Board members were also wary of the redistricting, especially since Jay School Corporation is preparing to issue an $18 million bond to cover the cost of renovations at Jay County High School.
“I think that TIF is probably a good thing for the city of Portland,” said board president Doug Inman. “But from where I sit on the school board, we need to come to an agreement we both can live with.”
“We desire to be good stewards of our city’s tax dollars,” said Downing. The fear is that without the added tax revenue from newly developing projects, there will be difficulty when it comes time to begin paying on the bonds in January 2008, which may lead to tax increases.
“I really don’t like taking the blame for raising people’s taxes,” said board member Greg Wellman.
“We all share in the responsibility of our tax rates,” said Mayor Bruce Hosier. “You folks had to float an $18 million bond to meet your needs, and we understood that. The city of Portland needs to grow now, too.”
“But the bond issue doesn’t affect how much money the city of Portland gets, but the TIF could potentially affect how much money the schools get,” said Jay School Corporation legal counsel Phil Frantz.
Hosier said the expected economic growth will be positive for students in the years to come.
“This gives the students to opportunity to grow with the community,” said Hosier. “We talk about the ‘brain drain’ in the state of Indiana, but what about the ‘brain drain’ in Portland?”
Hosier went on to say that he hopes that new jobs and an improved quality of life will encourage high school graduates to stay in Portland or return after pursuing higher education.
“I think we all can agree that economic development is important,” said Downing, “but let me be clear. We consider this corporation to be a big reason people move here.”
The Jay School Corporation is the largest employer in Jay County, with more than 500 employees.
Bryan Alexander, board vice president, said he thought it was important to note the positive affect a more developed city will have on the school corporation.
“We are all business people in some way, and I think as business people, we can understand this is a good thing. I don’t think the city is trying to rob us,” said Alexander.
Other board members remained skeptical.
“If something sparkles too bright, I better walk away,” said board member Mike Shannon. “This looks awful shiny.”
In other business, the board approved the final specifications and construction project at Jay County High School. The board will begin advertising for bids from construction companies as early as Wednesday, and will continue accepting them through Feb. 22. A contract is expected to be awarded at the Feb. 27 board meeting.
Plans call for demolition to begin March 1, with construction commencing on March 6 on the swimming pool addition and renovation. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by Sept. 15, 2007. According to the current schedule, construction crews will be out of academic areas by the start of the 2007 school year.
Additionally, board president Doug Inman and Jay Halstead were unanimously re-elected as board of finance president and secretary, respectively.
Jay Schools business manager Brad DeRome presented the financial report for 2005, which showed that Jay schools once again finished in the “black” with a budget surplus of $402,099. This is the third year in a row the school corporation has finished in a surplus position. The school corporation also earned $211,473 on cash balances in 2005. This is the most interest that has been collected since 2000, when the school corporation earned $304,081.[[In-content Ad]]
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