[Mpls] $30m in TIF funds to be redirected to affordable housing?

[Doug Walter]

On Sept 10, CPED requested amendments to five existing Tax Increment
Financing (TIF) districts that would allow the revenues to be pooled and
exclusively used for affordable housing development in Minneapolis. This
action would allocate $21.5 million of the tax increment revenues
expected over the next five years to "affordable housing" and additional
$8.8 million for "administration" of those funds. That's a whopping $30
million dollars ON TOP of the $9 million already in in CPED's 2005
budget, the $4 million reserve in 2005 NRP funds, and another $1 million
for "workforce housing!" 

Over the past three years, the City has time and again strongly
indicated that it does not have enough revenue to provide basic services
to its residents.  Police, fire, public works and many other direct
service departments have absorbed significant budget cuts.  Furthermore,
the five year plans for these departments and the Mayor's 2005 budget
show even more reductions.  

So, considering the City is having problems affording even the most
basic services, all of should ask why the Mayor and certain City Council
members are promoting the diversion of scarce revenues to address a
single issue?  What's going on here? 

Instead, the City Council should simply decertify those five districts
so that the revenues generated can be used to help support basic
services to residents and the Minneapolis Public Schools, and most
importantly, to bolster the general fund of the City. That would
essentially be providing tax relief to all of the residents of the City.
Please let your Council Member and the Mayor know that the Mayor and his
staff are heading in the wrong direction.

Time is of the essence here. The 30-day review and comment period began
on September 24 and closes with a public hearing in the Community
Development Committee of the City Council tomorrow, Tuesday, October 26
at 1:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. The full Council action has
been scheduled for Friday, November 5, 2005.

Doug Walter
Nokomis East