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Bloomington adopts second amended TIF spending plan, extends deadlines for Mall of America-area funds
Summary
The Bloomington City Council and the Bloomington Port Authority on Sept. 30 approved a second amended and restated tax-increment financing (TIF) spending plan that extends spending deadlines for TIF Districts 1C and 1G and allows interest earned in the segregated account to be used as TIF dollars.
Bloomington — The Bloomington City Council and the Bloomington Port Authority on Tuesday approved a second amended and restated tax-increment financing (TIF) spending plan that extends deadlines for spending funds tied to TIF Districts 1C and 1G and permits use of interest earned on the segregated account.
City staff said the spending plan update does not allocate money to any specific project and only authorizes the city to make future commitments. “It authorizes, but it does not obligate us to use or spend any of those funds,” Kevin Knaise said during the public hearing.
The spending plan traces to special legislation passed by the state in 2021 and a subsequent legislative extension. According to city staff, Bloomington transferred $95,200,000 into a segregated spending-plan account by the statutory deadline, up from an earlier figure of $55,000,000 approved by the council and port authority in March 2022 following further analysis.
Knaise told the council the amendment would: extend the deadline to commit and spend funds within TIF Districts 1C and 1G through Dec. 31, 2027; incorporate a broader, non-city-specific legislative extension allowing some flexibility to use funds outside those district boundaries through Dec. 31, 2026 for certain Mall of America-related property; and permit interest earned on the segregated account to be treated as spending-plan dollars. “That 95.2 comes directly from that tax increment revenue that was generated in those districts and available at that time and was transferred into those accounts,” Knaise said. He added interest earned on the account to date is about $7,300,000.
Council member D'Alessandro asked for confirmation that the transferred dollars came from tax-increment revenue generated in the Mall of America TIF districts; Knaise confirmed that characterization. The council and port authority also were told the amendment would require reporting the change to the Office of the State Auditor within 30 days of modification.
Council member D'Alessandro moved to adopt a resolution approving the second amended and restated spending plan for certain TIF districts located within Industrial Development District Number 1, South Loop; Council member Carter seconded. The City Council approved the resolution 7-0. The Port Authority later approved a matching resolution on a separate motion by Councilman Peterson; that vote was also 7-0.
City staff emphasized the spending-plan amendment does not itself obligate the city to commit funds to a specific development. The Mall of America waterpark project referenced during the presentation would still require a separate redevelopment agreement, to be considered and approved at a future public meeting.
The council closed the public hearing on the second amended and restated spending plan and adjourned the concurrent meeting after the vote.
