TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Dustin Anderson, Director of Community Development
SUBJECT:
title
Award of Professional Services Agreement for a TIF Efficiency Study to Johnson Research Group (JRG) in the Amount of $72,615.00
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BACKGROUND:
After internal staff discussion about the current balance and overall financial health of Joliet's Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts, Economic Development staff issued an RFP seeking a qualified consultant to conduct a study of Joliet's TIF districts and help identify strategies to improve each TIF district's performance. This RFP was issued on January 24, 2025. The findings will help guide decisions on potential boundary amendments, extensions, or terminations in accordance with the Illinois TIF Act?.
Our current TIFs are not performing as well as they otherwise might. This under performance has contributed to fewer projects than preferred in some TIF districts. Appendix "A" provides a summary of the balance in each TIF district, the age of the district, and the number of active projects today.
To attract developers with impactful projects to Joliet, the City must have a healthy and diverse portfolio of incentives, including TIF funding. This funding source is the most popular financing mechanism among developers and one where the municipality has direct control of the process. The current balances of Joliet's TIF Districts, excluding TIF #7, are a challenge to attract projects that require multi-million-dollar investments.
Additionally, the City itself could implement incentive programs directly funded from TIF districts for smaller-scale projects. One example might be a storefront modernization program. A program of this kind could help commercial building owners and/or business owners update the fa?ade of storefronts and upgrade plumbing and electrical equipment, making the building stock in Joliet more attractive and assessed at a higher value, which in turn would help boost the increment created in the ...
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