Council places on debate agenda ordinance authorizing $50,000 annual TIF payments to school district after questions about back payments

The Committee of the Whole voted to place on the debate agenda an ordinance authorizing annual payments of $50,000 from Enos Park and Madison Park Place tax increment financing funds to Springfield School District 186 for 12 years, a program the ordinance caps at $1.2 million. Council members pressed city staff for details after being told the city has not made the payments referenced in a 2020 agreement and that the first payments would go back to 2023.

Aldermen discussed the ordinance 2025-3-73 during Monday’s meeting after staff described the payments as part of a promise tied to earlier extensions of the two TIF districts. An Office of Planning and Economic Development staff member told aldermen the school district provided a letter dated May 21, 2020, in support of the TIF extension that referenced the agreement to provide these payments; the packet included that documentation.

Alderman Conley asked whether the city had already begun making payments; OPED staff replied, "We were not making these payments," adding the authorization is being presented now because they “could not find any authority to make these payments.” Alderman Donilon and others said they did not recall council approving the payments as part of the original TIF extensions and asked staff to check prior records.

Councilors also sought clarification on how far back payments would be owed. OPED staff said the authorization would go back to 2023; the department said it would check available funds before confirming the size of any initial payment. "This authorizes the payment. We would need to ... check with the available funds to see what the initial payment would be," a staff member said.

During the discussion, council repeatedly referenced documentation attached to the agenda packet, including a May 21, 2020 letter from the school district and correspondence from former mayoral staff. Alderman Cox read an email exchange that referenced a $100,000 annual agreement for two TIFs; OPED said it could not find authorization to pay that amount and that this ordinance is being presented to create a formal authorization.

The committee voted to place the item on the debate agenda; the clerk recorded the motion as carried (“the ayes have it”) but did not record individual roll-call votes in the discussion. No final appropriation was adopted on Monday; a debate item was scheduled for a future meeting so council can consider the ordinance and staff-provided clarifications.

Ending — OPED staff said they will research records of prior votes and confirm the payment schedule and initial payment amount before the debate. Councilors asked staff to circulate supporting documents and to verify whether other taxing bodies received or were promised similar up-front payments during prior TIF extensions.