The Village of Libertyville has requested a 13-year extension on a tax-increment finance district credited with rejuvenating the downtown since 1986.
The tax agreement covering 157.5 acres has been so successful that the village needs to finish the job by providing more parking, Mayor Jeffrey Harger said. The village plans to build a three-story, 370-space garage at Lake Street and Brainerd Avenue and three other parking projects that will cost $15 million.
“It’s very important for us to make it as easy as possible for customers to park so they’ll continue to shop in the downtown area,” Harger said.
State legislators must sign off on the extension request, sponsored by Rep. Ed Sullivan Jr. (R-Mundelein). The House Revenue Committee has asked that the village provide letters of support from each taxing district affected, such as schools, the library and Libertyville Township, Sullivan said.
Those letters were delivered during the last week, with all but one in favor of extending the TIF after it expires in December 2009, Sullivan said. Libertyville Township Highway Commissioner Bill Morgan wrote his opposition to the extension, stating that his agency has already forfeited $130,000.
“TIF districts were designed for blighted and economically declining areas,” said Morgan, whose office maintains 30 miles of roads with an annual budget of $600,000. “What about unincorporated Libertyville?”
Sullivan argued that Libertyville Township has benefited from increases in property values that resulted from the TIF.
“If you want to continue this economic engine downtown you have to have parking,” he said.
Tax increment districts often are controversial because the revenue goes toward infrastructure and street-scape improvements. Meanwhile, school districts, libraries and other taxing entities usually receive none of the revenue from the district until the agreement expires.
In Libertyville, village officials say they will not need all the TIF proceeds to complete the parking projects. They have proposed rebating extra dollars to the other taxing bodies throughout the 13 years.
Supt. Mark Friedman of Libertyville Elementary School District 70 said the agreement would help the schools. Without an extension, the district would receive a “windfall” the first year the TIF expired, but its tax rate would erode in following years because of tax cap legislation.
Under the proposed arrangement, “we will get steady payments instead of one huge one,” Friedman said. lblack@tribune.com
