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Wheeling won't sign deal to share TIF funds with schools, parks

Wheeling is willing to share excess funds from Tax Increment Financing districts with schools, libraries and parks boards, but will not sign a proposed agreement requiring them to do so, Village President Dean Argiris said.

"We will distribute any surplus as we have in the past because it's the right thing to do," Argiris said, "but don't hold a gun to my head."

A intergovernmental agreement between the village, Wheeling Elementary School District 21, Northwest Suburban High School District 214, the Wheeling Park District and Indian Trails Public Library District was proposed after the Wheeling leaders announced plans to reset two important TIF districts.

Argiris said the other taxing bodies are asking for a "piece of the pie" in 12 years, when one of those TIF districts would have expired without the reset.

Several taxing bodies have questioned the village board's plans that will extend the TIF districts for another 23 years. The Town Center TIF on village-owned land along Dundee Road west of village hall would have expired in about a dozen years if not for the reset plan. The Southeast TIF near Chicago Executive Airport was set to expire in 17 years.

When a TIF is created, property taxes distributed to local governments are frozen at present levels. Any future gains in tax revenues are placed in a special village-controlled account and used only for improvements within district.

A committee of all affected taxing bodies, called the Joint Review Board, will discuss the Town Center TIF at 2 p.m. Friday, March 21, at Wheeling Village Hall. The group previously has questioned whether Wheeling has the legal authority to reset the TIFs, and whether it needs to reset them to spur development.

"There could have been ways in which to provide development incentives without having to terminate and re-establish the TIF," said Daniel Schuler, assistant superintendent for District 21. "This is a disagreement between us and the village."

If the Joint Review Board votes against the TIF reset, the village board would be required to wait for a 30-day review process and try again. If the joint committee still objects, the village board would need five votes from its seven board members, rather than the typical majority of four, to move forward.

Wheeling considers the Town Center TIF particularly important because officials say they are close to a contract with a developer to finally bring an entertainment district to the site after years of planning. A Wickes Furniture store previously stood on the property.

Earlier this month Wheeling declared a surplus in another of its TIFs, distributing $2.5 million to local governments, including $1.1 million to District 21; $562,369 to Northwest Suburban High School District 214 and $275,375 to the village itself. At that time Argiris said the move was not a response to the objections from the local taxing bodies.

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