The Batavia City Council took steps this week to help the local school district sell a building that will be vacant at the end of the academic year. The council voted unanimously Monday to begin the procedure for designating the Batavia Junior High School property at Wilson Street and Illinois Highway 31 as part of a tax increment financing district.
Batavia School District 101 officials asked for the TIF designation as a means to spur developers` interest in the aging building. District 101 plans to open a new, larger junior high school next fall.
Under TIF laws, a city can sell bonds to help pay for public improvements in the TIF district that will assist redevelopment. The bonds are then paid off with the increases in any property taxes stemming from the redevelopment.
