More than 20 people testified Monday afternoon against creating 15 new tax increment financing (TIF) districts in Cincinnati.
City Council is set to vote on creating them Dec. 18 after a council committee approved them last month.
Those opposed said they're concerned creating the new TIF districts will take money away from the Cincinnati Public School district.
"The taxpayer needs to know how TIFs have impacted communities in the past; how much money TIF districts actually generate; the decision-making process on how the money is spent," said Sue Mangan. "And we need to know that Cincinnati Public Schools will receive a fair share, not just the minimum required by law."
Others complained there needs to be an audit of how much money is in existing TIF districts accounts and how it has been spent. The TIF account balances are included in monthly financial reports provided to City Council.
"You need to freeze the TIFs out of the situation," said resident Laura Hamilton. "Tell us how much money is in our bank account and then consider it. There is no rush, we can wait until after the first of the year."
Once implemented, as home and business values rise in these districts, the additional property tax money generated is set aside for public projects to benefit the neighborhoods.
The proposed new TIF districts are:
- West End
- Pleasant Ridge
- Mt. Auburn
- Northside
- Eastern River
- College Hill
- Roselawn
- Westwood Boudinot
- Mt. Airy
- Camp Washington
- Spring Grove Village
- South Fairmount
- South Cumminsville
- Riverside
- North Fairmount
Right now, the city has 20 TIF districts that were created in 2002 and 2005. The city had not established any new districts since 2005 because officials believed state law prevented the creation of any new districts.
But now after working with the West End, who made a request to become a TIF district to create housing, the city has done more research and determined it is feasible to create additional TIF districts that met the requirements of state law.
City administrators said in a memo last month that they would like to have the news TIF district in place by the end of 2019.
The city's current TIF districts include: Downtown, Over-the-Rhine, Carthage, Walnut Hills, East Walnut Hills, Clifton Heights, Corryville, Bond Hill, Evanston, West Price Hill, East Price Hill, Lower Price Hill, Sedamsville, Westwood, Madisonville, Oakley and Avondale.
