Elgin looking at funding downtown group for one more year
Time is running short to establish by the end of the year a special tax to fund the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin, which means the city likely will continue funding the agency in 2017.
City council members in May decided they wanted the DNA to send out a questionnaire gauging support among downtown property owners for the proposed new special service area tax, or SSA.
The questionnaire, which includes a detailed map, tax levy information and more, took a while to complete and should be ready to be mailed out next week, DNA Executive Director Deirdre White said. The DNA plans to discuss its results with property owners at a meeting Sept. 22, she said.
Barring a sprint, that doesn't leave much time for the SSA process to play out - including a public hearing, a 60-day period allowing opposing petitions and then a city council vote - before the December deadline to get the new tax on 2017 property tax bills. "My educated guess is that this won't go before the city council in 2016," White said.
Mayor David Kaptain said he'd be OK with extending the agency's current $135,000 yearly contract, which expires March 31, by 60 or 90 days at a time while requiring regular updates from DNA officials.
Councilman John Prigge said he would consider extending the contract by a full year, "but I would want clear cut objectives. I would want more direct accountability and proven successes."
Kaptain also said that the DNA tentatively has asked for a 2 to 3 percent increase in funding, which has stayed level for several years. "We will have to talk about that with the city council," he said.
The new tax to fund the DNA likely would be about 1 percent of a property's equalized assessed value as of 2002 or 2016, whichever is less, White said. Some factors are up in the air, such as whether the city is willing to include properties in the new tax area, she said.
"The DNA's goal is to have (the tax) as low as possible," she said.
The SSA tax cannot be created if at least 51 percent of registered voters in the area and at least 51 percent of property owners file a petition against it.
It's important to proactively ensure downtown property owners support the new tax, even if that means funding the DNA for one more year, Councilman Toby Shaw said. The city could also consider taking over some DNA services or partner with others to provide them, he added.
"If the property owners are not in support (of the tax), we have a different problem in our hand that is harder to undo - and we've lost the trust of those folks in the community. That is more important to me than this process taking longer."
DNA officials say they believe a majority of property owners supports the new tax, but Shaw said he's been getting "lukewarm" feedback. Still, he hopes the questionnaire will come back in favor of the tax, he said.
The DNA is funded by $120,000 from the city's Central Area Tax Increment Financing District and $15,000 from the general fund. Residents who object to the city funding the DNA should remember it's mostly TIF money, Councilwoman Rose Martinez said.
"There is a process (for the new tax) and time is running out. I think it's only fair that we go ahead and fund it (the DNA)," Martinez said. "I think that the DNA is something that's needed for the downtown."