SLDC presents annual TIF report; public commenters call for stronger oversight and transparency

St. Louis — SLDC presented the city’s required annual tax-increment financing (TIF) report to the Housing, Urban Development and Zoning Committee on Jan. 27, describing active, retired and terminated TIFs, outstanding note balances and timelines for maturities.

Madeline Swanstrom, SLDC’s incentive compliance manager, told the committee the department had submitted required annual reports to the state and that it tracks 152 redevelopment plans, 124 redevelopment agreements, 57 retired/terminated TIFs and a number of projects in various stages of completion. She walked the committee through lists of 25-, 20-, 15-, 10- and five-year anniversaries and noted several TIF notes scheduled to mature in the next few years.

Committee members asked for clarification about what it means when a TIF note “matures” and how tax flows are returned; Madeline and Tom Ray (comptroller) explained that once the statutory period expires or the note is paid off, the tax increment flows back to taxing jurisdictions. SLDC staff acknowledged the city will host annual reporting and that some older TIFs did not perform as expected. Zach (SLDC) and Tom Ray said the city does not back TIF notes, which protects city coffers from TIF shortfalls.

Public commenters urged stronger oversight and more timely access to project-level data. David Pate and Jerry Connolly asked for clearer documentation in advance of hearings and flagged instances where LRA held commercial condo units in buildings associated with active TIFs, seeking assurances about management, insurance and liability. Connolly also urged earlier distribution of the narrative project-level data so that the public and committee members can review outstanding principal and maturity dates before hearings.

The committee moved Board Bill 122 with a due-pass recommendation.