Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves closing two TIF accounts, rejects wider interfund forgiveness motions
Summary
After staff explained audits showed TIF 1 and TIF 2 had been closed in earlier audits but remained on village books, the board authorized closure/journal entries for TIF 1 and TIF 2 and approved related resolutions; multiple motions to forgive interfund balances and close other funds failed amid trustee demands for receipts and more documentation.
Village finance staff told trustees that Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District 1 and TIF District 2 had been closed in prior audits (2014'15) but the village ledger still listed residual balances. Staff recommended board action to authorize administrative entries to reconcile the village books with audited financial statements.
Chris Marabelli presented the timeline and said auditors had consolidated the balances in 2014'15 and that the ledger now needs a journal entry to match the audited statements. Marabelli said, "April 2020 was when that audit was filed for fiscal year 2016," and explained that, statutory accounting aside, auditors had long since eliminated the TIFs from audited reporting even though interfund balances remained on the village ledger.
Trustees pressed for documentation, questioned retrospective administrative fees and objected to forgiving interfund balances without itemized receipts. One trustee called the administrative-fee numbers "fictitious" and said there was "no proof" to support charging or forgiving the amounts back to 1987; another trustee said funds taken from road and bridge and the golf course should be returned where appropriate and not simply forgiven.
The board voted on separate motions: it approved resolutions to authorize charging administrative fees and to close TIF 1 (Res. 2025-27) and TIF 2 (Res. 2025-28). By contrast, motions to authorize broader forgiveness or to close several special revenue and debt-service accounts (items F2L, F2M and F2N) failed after trustees requested more time and supporting documentation.
Trustees who opposed the forgiveness motions argued the board must protect taxpayers and obtain proof of past transfers before writing any balances off. Finance staff said the bookkeeping steps were administrative and would not change cash balances reflected in audited statements, but trustees asked for written backup before approving any forgiveness.
The board directed staff to provide more documentation and to return the items at a later meeting for further consideration.
